


For Sale

by MarieLamb_B



Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: A bunch of angst, A little bit of fluff, Alternate Universe, By The Lost Moongazer (TUMBLR), By Upperstories (TUMBLR), F/M, Henry and the Ink Machine Universe, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Regrets, Tortuous past, True love knows no boundaries~, at least that's what I pretend..., bendy and buddy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-31
Updated: 2019-05-23
Packaged: 2019-10-19 14:03:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 33,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17602727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarieLamb_B/pseuds/MarieLamb_B
Summary: After escaping the hellhole of studio that used to be their only home, the toons make their best to live as quiet as pacifically in their new home: Henry's old and abandoned house.But the house should have an owner, doesn't it? What could even happen when they start get the electricity, water and other bills and think that some hooligans broke into their house?Sooner or later, this had to happen. But no toon would have expected this might end as a really bittersweet reunion.





	1. Someone comes to knock.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Upperstories](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Upperstories/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Before and After](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12629271) by [Star_Going_Supernova](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Star_Going_Supernova/pseuds/Star_Going_Supernova). 



> Ok, SO! We finally start this!!! (I. I finally start posting this...)  
> This is my first work in here, the reason I made me an account here in first place!. I've been working on this since November, but my laptop was stolen and with it a third of what I was working on was lost. It took a lot to try and rewrite all the missing parts.  
> Also, I haven't written anything since 6 years ago, and also also, is the first time I try to write something entirely in english (I'm chilean, so spanish is my native language). So it's quite probably to be a total grammatical mess, or a way too correct to be comfortable due constant checking with translators, re-checks and edits and all that... I don't know, that's how I learned english...  
> Anyways~ This one takes place in the Reversal Alternate Universe (Originally created by The Lost Moongazer) "Henry and The Ink Machine" (HATIM); but taking the Spinoff created by Upperstories presenting the lovable and shortiest version of Henry: Buddy!  
> So with no more to say, let's go with the story!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A safe home seems like an utopia for the toons: too good to be true. You can't give it for granted...

Pretty quiet has been the morning since the group of toons was just advocated to house chores. Now, nearly midday, each one of them was helping preparing the lunch. Buddy would avidly want to help, but due his short height he couldn’t even reach a drawer. So, up to explore the house.

This was supposed to be Henry’s house from 30 years ago, and apparently hadn’t been used since then. So, if any little thing could help Henry regain his memories from his past life, must be actually anywhere in this house. But Henry didn’t seem so eagerly on finding what’s more in his past. Buddy only assumed it was some kind of guilty feeling, still being in negation or sort of, but almost every time that they found something that seemed to belong to Henry, he just curled up in the back of their mind, trying to not give it attention. This case was not different.

Peeking from here to there, exploring unused rooms, climbing on shelves around, Buddy found a thick book entitled _Loving Memories_ (pretty much the literal idea of what he has been looking for). He pulled it from the shelf, and with a little hop, landed near of a dusty armchair, convenient place to take a look to that book.

“Henry! What is this book?” Buddy asked curious before daring to open it.

“ _Just an ol’ photo book. Nothing important._ ” Mumbled Henry, once again in the back of their mind. Just like every other time, trying to not give it attention and to not feel hunted by the guilty grief of not remembering. But that wasn’t going to stop Buddy from take a peek on its pages.

The images on each page seemed so old, like from 30 or even 40 years ago. The first ones with a blurry shade of grays, making it look pretty alike to the shades of their old show in black and white, and then there were some images with yellowish shades, making them look like tanned or slightly burned. Anyways, they all seemed to show always the same person: a relatively short man with a smile in his face and, even through the blur, a vivid spark in his eyes. In some photos he didn’t appeared, and some others showed him with a plenty group of people. But not as Buddy had the chance to stare at them carefully, that a hollow knock took him off his thoughts.

With as much caution and silence as he could (which is pretty silent ‘thanks’ to their time trapped in the studio), he took a look through the nearest window to the front yard, only to see a man with an elegant suit, hammering a sign in the front right on view of the street side.

“ _This is bad._ ” Whispered Henry, calling the attention of his partner.

“What do you mean? What’s with this sign?”

“ _They’re putting the house for sale. We have not much time..._ ”

Those words just made the little one start to take uneven deep breaths as his heart started to bump loudly stronger. What were they going to do? They just found this place; they turned it into their home! They can’t just be kicked out with no previous warning! What could he do? What could _they_ do? His mind was numbed, but could only think in just one thing.

“BEEENDYYYYY!!!!!” Shouted Buddy, sliding down by the stairs’ banister as fast as he could, running after and making him hard to stop in time and stumbled against the stepstool that Bendy was using to reach over the sink while doing the dishes, nearly dropping him down.

“Geez, Buddy, please, would ya NOT do that again?” Replied Bendy frowning, reproaching to the little devil as he held the sink border in order to regain his balance.

“What’s going on in here? Buddy, why are you shouting?” Came in Alice, taking some plates from over of one of the cupboards and leaving them next to Boris, who was finishing cocking and ready to serve.

“I just... I saw a man in the front... He was... He put a sign in the yard... I don’t know what it is, but Henry said...”

“Woah, woah, woah. Slow down, kiddo. What’re ya saying? What said Henry?” Bendy took a step down and knelt on front of the little one, putting his hands on his shoulders as Buddy tried to calm down and regain his breath.

“They’re putting this house for sale, Bendy...” Said at the time some tears ran down by his cheek “...They’re kicking us out, we... I don’t wanna leave this house, not yet...” Ended up saying, when some slightly sobs started to cut his breaths in tiny hiccups.

The shock of the announcement held each one in the room still, unable to react coherently, but Buddy was still sobbing with sorrow; the idea of losing what they all managed to built, to throw it all and got to be on the run once again, to find somewhere else to hide, surely not a real home like this... Maybe it wasn’t as bad as he might be painting it, but the idea of return to the nothingness and lose anything that could help Henry was just tearing his heart and hopes.

But for the group there was nothing they could really do by the moment, just try to comfort the anguished little one (as sure as probably Henry was doing it by his mental side), and just wait until the darkness of the night covers the neighborhood to allow them take a look on what the drama was.

And just like the day passed on so the night came along. Nearly past the 11 o’clock and most of the houses around theirs already shut the lights off. It was the time for them to see what’s going with that sign. ‘ _FOR SALE’_ was written down in big white letters in a red board, as well as some red words above in a white board, saying ‘ _Open house: Tuesday’_.

“What it mean with ‘open house’, anyways?” Asked Boris.

“It means that they’re going to show how’s the house from inside to anyone that wants to take a peek.” Answered Henry in front of Buddy, who seemed to still be a little nervous about the idea.

 “That’s in about two days. What are we going to do? Keep the house locked up?” Alice really felt like she was somehow trapped again.

“Easy-peasy!” Snored Bendy as he drew closer to the sign. “If they can’t see it...“ He picked up the sign off the ground... “...then none will ‘ave to come. How else would ’ey know?” ...and he threw the sign into the trash container. Hopefully, as every Monday, the trash truck would appear in the early morning before than anyone notices and would take the sign just like any other garbage it takes. And for simple this idea were, it seemed enough to return the air into the lungs of his friends and relax their stiffed shoulders. That’s when he turned to the little one, expecting to receive an answer from the one who was just trembling over the idea of leaving. “Ye ok, lil’ shrimp?”

He just nodded. By the shyness in his look, was somehow easy to tell that it was Buddy the one answering mutely, giving some relief to the imp to know he was able to step in front of their body. At least, this somewhat of solution would be enough to help the little one to sleep in peace. At least, this night.

~~~~~~~~~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And! We reached the end of Ch.1. Yes, they're short, 3 pages on Word more or less. I actually started to write all this fic in one shot but then I started to worry when I reached the page 30. At least it'll keep this thing going on for a while. I pretend to publish a new chapter every 2 days or so. So stay tuned!  
> And over all, Thank you all for welcoming me and my work! Kudos are greatly appreciated!!  
> See you next time!  
> ~♥


	2. The Owner.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When they already know you're in there, what else left? Hiding doesn't seem a real choice by this time...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, Chapter número 2 is right at your service, fresh and warm as just out of the oven!  
> ...Actually no, I've already said it was been written since november... BUT-! Not like you knew that beforehand!  
> Alright, this whole idea of the owner came from this PRECIOUS Fic ( http://upperstories.tumblr.com/post/169081126253/stargazing ) an Anon published on Upperstories Tumblr page (and actually was the main reason for me to want to write all this story). It was an Anon submission, so sadly I can't tell who nor give them enough credit.  
> If you read it, fantastic! If don't, giving it a try won't hurt~  
> Ok, that being said, let's keep with the fic!

By the morning, just as previewed, the trash truck passed, took the container and threw the sign into its pickup along with all of the other garbage and just left on its road. The sole thing that left the sign in their yard was the hole where it was staked on. Surely, it would take the grass about some weeks to cover it again, but at least it seemed like they were going to keep their home for a little longer.

That peace would have lasted if it weren’t for the sound of some keys clinking by the front door. The noise for sure made them all to jump from their beds, as they gathered at the railing that separated the space between the second floor hallway and the view of an open space over the living room and the front door. Didn’t have to wait for long when they saw the opening door and a foot coming across. They all ducked, expecting that whoever came in hadn’t saw them, and with a furtive look, they all followed towards where he was heading. It was the same man in elegant suit that Buddy saw the day before. If he came up to the second floor, then they for sure would be damned. But instead, he just looked around his sides and walked upon the kitchen. They felt relieved, able to breathe again, until they heard him.

“Sorry, ma’am, but we have a problem here” His voice came from the kitchen. There was a telephone attached to the wall. Who was he talking to? He knew about them? Since when was the phone able for use? “The sign is gone... Yeah, I could, but it’ll cost you... about 20... I can stake it right now, but if it disappears again, the cost will be more... Still up for tomorrow’s show...? You’re... Well, it’s up to you. Then I’ll wait for your call... ‘Tween 3 and 5... Ok... ok, talk to you later!” And the bell of the phone hung up echoed in the whole house.

They were curious about whom he was talking to, but as soon they heard again his footsteps, they ducked again behind the railing in hope of not being noticed. But that man just walked away in straight line towards the door, and shut it behind him as he left. Soon they went to the nearest window, same one that Buddy used to watch him the previous day, and all looked as the man just got into his car and left their front down the street. No new sign staked. That was good, wasn’t it? Then what was all that chattering he had down in the kitchen? Nothing that they could answer but just had to wait. Surely, soon they’ll know something.

*-*-*-*-*

Tuesday came in and there was nothing about people around the house, just the usual neighbors around doing their daily routine. Perhaps there was nothing more to worry about and they would be able to do their own stuffs like every other day, so they did: Boris cleaning the bathroom, Alice dusting the rooms and Bendy and Buddy with the dishes after they had breakfast. Everything was as quiet as the days before the sign issue.

But once again, all that quiet around them was suddenly interrupted by the noise of some wheels scratching the pavement as a vehicle stopped in front of the house. As fast as they could, Bendy and Buddy approached to the window next to the front door to see what was happening. It was a lady this time, wearing a buttoned light blue blouse with sleeves slightly puffed at the shoulders, a straight knee length skirt, and a pair of shoes that clacked with every step of her. She was coming to their house.

As she was so close to the door, Bendy and Buddy started to panic, trying to silently, like a mute comedy, find somewhere to hide. Both retreated back to the kitchen, and finding nowhere else to go, both jumped into one of the cupboards under the sink.

“That... T’was a close one... don’t ya think, Buddy?” Bendy said between greats gasp of air, trying to keep calm and silently, but although the little one was also panting, trying to regain his air, he seemed to not response to the name Bendy just used. “...Henry? Are ye... you ok?”

That was when he turned to him. His look was pretty shocked, and not precisely for the fact of being ‘visited’ once again, but something deeper.

“Her face... I know her face...” Said Henry trying to keep it silent as well. Bendy just raised a ‘brow’ from his widow’s peak and tilted his head, confused to what he meant. “I know her face. I know her! Oh, my God, how could I forget her?!” By the moment, he was more like punishing himself than giving any coherent answer to Bendy.

*-*-*-*-*

The lady outside was approaching to the entrance when she noticed something from the window next to the door. The curtains were moving, as if something –or someone– dragged them around, but when she looked through the window, nothing was there. She barely got to notice a shadow running towards the kitchen.

“You gotta be kidding me...” She muttered in disdain. Indeed, there _was_ someone in her house. Maybe this was something that required the police around, but honestly she had no patience to wait for them, answer those silly and redundant questions and hope to they get into and don’t destroy anything. Nope. This was something that _she_ was going to solve once and for all.

She took her keys from inside her purse, and with a certain step, got into her own house.

“Hello?”

*-*-*-*-*

“Hey, hey! Henry, Henry. Look at me. Look. At. Me.” Bendy held Henry’s head with both hands at each side, forcing him to look up to him and listen. “Would ya _please_ ‘xplain what’re ye talking ‘bout?”

Henry stayed still for an instant, and then he held Bendy’s arms to put them down off his head. The shame on himself didn’t let him keep eye contact with the imp, and in a soft muttering, started to answer to his questions. “I... I know her... She...she’s Linda, my wife...”

“No way!” Nearly shouted, but Henry started to hush him.

“Keep it quiet!” He yelled to Bendy in a hiss. “Don’t you see? You’ll make her to find us!”

“Sorry, but there’s no way she’s Linda. She’s too old!” Now he was about to giggle and Henry had to shut the devil’s mouth with his own mitten-like hands.

“She’s a human, Bendy. People grow up.” He muttered, about to lose his patience.

“Grow _old_ , ye might mean” And the giggles escaped. Henry couldn’t help but started slapping Bendy around as he kept giggling by his side. But then they heard her, freezing their little dispute.

“ _Hello? I know you’re there! Better you to get the hell out of here or I’m calling the police!_ ” She sounded like mature woman.

They hold still as they tried to listen where she was. No footsteps. Then she wasn’t at the kitchen at least.

“What a temperament. For sure she’s Linda.” The sarcastic comment given by Bendy only made Henry started to slap him again, and the chuckles of Bendy regain audible place.

“Stop that! You don’t even know her!”

“ _Gotcha_! Eh...?” The woman opened the cupboard door, holding her clacking shoes in one hand and after all finding the two little devils’ hide spot. But as soon as she did, she realized who was one of them hiding, making her to slowly fall down in her knees and stare to the little devil darling. “...Bendy... Bendy, is it really you...?”

“What? I, ah...” Bendy hardly had time to react, as the elder lady pulled him into a tight hug and started to kissing him all over his face, holding gently but firmly his head between her hands, like if she were reuniting with a missing son.

“Oh, my God! Bendy! It is really you!”

“She... she remembers you...” Muttered Henry, left in complete oblivion of the sight of his former wife. “...She knows you...”

*-*-*-*-*

“ _Oh, my God! Bendy! Is it really you!_ ” Was a shout that clearly could be heard all over the house, and Alice and Boris, who stayed hidden behind the door of one of the upper rooms, didn’t know if they should take that exclamation as a sign of danger, like if an old show fan was the one who came across the door and now was bewildered by meeting its childhood idol, or if it really was someone that knew them from their time in the studio, but the only ones who knew about them were the same ones that Joey trapped in that inky hell of studio, employees that already lost their life. And as far as they knew, Bendy was pretty careful on not letting anyone from the outside to find out who he was during his time on the streets. Who could ever recognize him –or them– after all those years?

They were thinking too much. Whoever was downstairs at the kitchen found out that Bendy was here, and probably he’s going to need some help. But as soon as they reached to the kitchen’s door frame, their worry frowned faces twisted to let escape some cackles from the scene they were witnessing: Bendy with all of his face red from the lipstick that the kisses from the elder lady was giving to him, as he couldn’t catch a moment to push himself aside and stop with all of this awkward situation, due for when she stopped to kissing him, she pulled him into a deep –breathless– hug.

“What’s going ‘round ‘ere?!” Asked Boris, trying to speak normally between the chuckles.

But those laughs stopped from both of them as they saw the lady turned slowly towards them with shock in her widen eyes. She left Bendy, allowing him to breath for once, and still barefoot, slowly drew herself closer to the couple of toons, that stayed still, not knowing how to react. But the woman stopped just a step away from them, stared at them, and couldn’t contain the tears that started to flow down along her cheeks  as she pull herself to them into a deep, distressing hug.

For a while, she only sobbed on their shoulders, neither letting them go or able to react. But after a couple of –awkward– minutes, she softened her grip and separated herself from them, just enough to take a look to the angel and the wolf.

“I can’t believe it... You’re alive! You are alive and here! You’re finally here...!” With this last, she also turned to see the imp that, somehow impatiently, was staring at their awkward scene as he tried to scrub some of the lipstick on his cheeks.

“I’m sorry, ma’am but... I just...” Boris didn’t really know how to pick the right words, as he held the lady’s arm and tried to free himself from the lady’s hug, but with no need to have been hard on her, because she for her own tuck her arms back, wiped some tears with her thumb and started to smile at them with relief.

“Guys, it’s me, Linda! Henry’s... Henry’s wife...” She ended up saying, as her smile faded and stared at the floor, letting some more tears to escape in a silent cry.

The taller toons gazed astonished, as their look lined to the littlest one the moment he stepped outside the cupboard, also with a distressed look in those pie-cut eyes and twitching his tail between his hands as the only thing that helped him to release his stress.

~~~~~~~~~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, _now_ is when the things get interesting... (or at least I hope so...)  
> What to expect from what's comming? I could tell, or you could just wait; I try to keep on this 2-days update schedule, so it won't be such long waiting~  
> Thank you all for reading! Kudos, comments, anything is well appreciated!  
> Hope you're enjoying!!  
> ~♥~


	3. That's how it all started.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A good story is a nice way to break the ice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright guys, now is when the real story should begin~  
> Also, officially changing the tags 'cos Now is when they'll start to look more accurated. So yes! If you realized, this is gonna contain a lot of Henry&Linda stuffs!!!  
> Even though Henry now is trapped in an inky cartoon body that looks pretty childish, but don't look at that... (Really. _Don't._ It's not like that.)  
> Anyhow, that the grace of being something that shouldn't be: the identity conflicts, what should and shouldn't now... but I'm just anticipating things that really hasn't passed... yet...  
> Ok, enjoy the show!!

A while must had passed for the toons to regain enough tranquility to be able to sit in the living room along with the woman who’d told them she was Henry’s wife.

Doubts were the main ideas around their minds; since Henry himself said some times that he didn’t really want to come across with what could left of the people from his past, which was not strange due to his supposed-to-be his best friend practically destroyed him to turn him into a cartoon character. There weren’t enough memories for Henry to tell if people could be reliable enough to trust on, and this lady might have been his wife, a person he once wanted to share his life with, but with all that had happened, all the decision he had made, how could he tell if _they_ could trust her?

Boris, who just was in the kitchen, came along with them to the living room holding a tray with some glasses of water. “Sorry, ma’am. This’ all we can offer ye for da moment.”

“Water is ok, Boris. Thank you so much.” She replied with a gentle smile as her eyes showed some wrinkles by their sides. She held the glass between both hands, staring at it for a moment, while Boris approached with some more glasses to Bendy and Alice before leaving the tray on the little coffee table in the center of their seats and held another glass of water for him.

Henry was the last one entering to the living room. He saw Linda sitting in one side of the long couch; he wanted to sit next to her, but wasn’t sure. But since every other seat was taken and Bendy already was sitting in the armrest next to Alice, it wasn’t like he had much choice. So, with a hop and kicking a little in the air, he managed to sit next to the woman, shyly, even when she turned her face to him and smiled with such sweetness... but he just bowed down his head, trying to avoid any contact that could generate some kind of guilty shameful feeling (that, for the record, was already late to avoid).

“ _C’mon, Henry! You can do this!_ ” a little voice from his insides encouraged the numbed man.

“ _You don’t get it, Buddy. I CAN’T do this!_ ” The man replied from his insides, enough for his partner to listen. “ _Besides, what am I supposed to tell her? She was the woman I loved, I forgot of, and now... I’m just afraid of... what kind of horrible husband am I to be scared of the woman I married with?_ ”

While he talked to himself, the struggle of his thoughts could have been easily seen by everyone in the room, as he kept playing with his tail with such tightness... luckily they all were so sunk in their own thoughts that hardly were aware of the little one.

“ _Henry, you don’t have to punish yourself so hard. She is here, she knows our friends somehow, and I’m quite sure she doesn’t know us. How could she tell that you are you?_ ”

“ _That’s supposed to make me feel better...?_ ” If anyone were seeing Henry’s looking in this moment, they could have said that he seemed pretty much disdained.

“ _Probably not, but at least, maybe we could finally get told some stories about you!_ ” Replied Buddy, eagerly for sure.

“ _What? No– Buddy, we already talked about that! I’m not–”_ Henry tried to reply but the little one was pretty firmly with his decision.

“ _Sorry, Henry, but you need to know what’s before we were what we are. I’m not moving from here, so you’ll have to just listen what’s she has to say_ ”

If it weren’t for his stern tone, Henry would have assured that the little Buddy was enjoying leaving him with apparently no way out, and quite probably he was.

With a lot of effort, Henry managed to turn his face to take a look at Linda’s face. Albeit any joke that Bendy could have said, she was older indeed: her hair was darker and greyer, with wrinkles around her eyes that marked even more as she smiled, and some wrinkles at the side of her mouth also, her skin looked tanner than he remembered... how could he remember so many details? Probably she must be around her sixties or some...

Dubiously, he tried to find some words to say with no success. A couple of times he opened his mouth, gasping a little, but simply couldn’t think of anything that could say to her. By fortune, the pressure that surrounded them all eased a little thanks to a heavy sigh that the lady released before finally starting to talk.

“Honestly... it is too hard to believe...” Linda started to mutter, keeping her sight over the glass of water that she still held. “Over 30 years, and you all...” It seemed like she was trying to let out a little snicker, but it stopped midways. “You’re here! You... got to get out from that studio, and now...” She finally got to lift her look, able to watch the trio, clearly even through the blur from her tears.

“...Henry would definitely be so happy and relieved if he could see you here...” She didn’t notice the awkward stare of the toons towards the little demon sitting next to her, luckily. “Especially of you, Bendy” She gazed at the devil darling, making him tilt a little his head as he held a furrowed, serious look. “The day that you left... A part of Henry died with your loss that day...”

Bendy retracted his head a little with a thoughtful stare. He could have looked at Henry over the couch, but probably he was same or more confused by all of this than he was concerned with what the elder woman said.

“...Whaddya mean...?” That was all that he could articulate.

“Nearly every day after you left he used to came back home by the 1 or 2 in the morning. He still used to work from 8 am to 9 pm, just like he always did, but after that it wasn’t for try to complete his work like it was before, but to be sure that Joey weren’t scheming anything that could hurt you anymore...”

_Joey_. That name was like a stitch inside the deepest and darkest part of each toon in there. It wasn’t like they banned that name from there, at least not quite stated like that, but hearing Linda naming him, assuring that the old head of the studio already could be scheming something, whatever it were, kind of told them that his madness wasn’t just something from inside the walls of the studio.

“Henry never knew how, but always told me that Joey was the one that made you to run away. I asked him how could be so sure, and he always said something like that Bendy was smiling playful nearly all the time, but that after every talk with Joey, your smirk barely could hide that you didn’t precisely spent a nice time with him...’” Quite the truth was told by her, but Bendy never thought he was so obvious.

“...until the last time.”

Like if the burning pain started to grow again, Bendy held both his arms firmly, not realizing he dropped the glass to the floor and wetted Alice’s feet.

“Geez, Bendy! C’mon!” Alice started to nag Bendy about, as he tried to apology and excuse himself, starting to argue between them as Boris just stood up to get something to clean the mess.

All of this while Linda watched the scene with some amount of awe glee, even enough to release some little giggles involuntarily despite the embarrassing moment for the cartoons before their visitor. At least it helped to ease the atmosphere. Just for a moment, at least, before returning to the main topic, and for Bendy, to trigger those memories that he hoped he had buried them way down in his mind, but no. Even Linda knew clearly that something happened that day...

~It was already late, and the old (but back then young) Henry man was by his desk, drawing as usually did as the animator he was. Kind of stuck with a design with all the tiredness accrued on him, not weird since were already past the 9 in the night.

But despite any thought that surrounded his mind, he hit back into reality when heard some muffled sorrows. Turned to the back of his seat and to the door behind, and as some squeaking noises approached to his sight, got to see the little devil running pass, sobbing, curled over his chest as he seemed to try to escape from something, was it? Maybe wounded?

Henry had to go and see what happened to his little devil, but as soon as he stood up and reached the door’s frame, a silhouette of a man with a cane stood right in front of his way.

“Something wrong, Henry?” Grinned the man with a strangely unsettling voice tone. It was Joey that for some even stranger reason wasn’t letting Henry go to find Bendy. Was he the responsible of the little imp’s suffering? If that were the case, it just originated a deep suspicious feeling growing in the animator’s chest.

“Nothing, Joey. Just... was going to the bathroom. That’s all.” Henry lied. Not sure if Joey did buy that excuse, but neither like he was going to stop him, he thought, as tried to dodge his person around, but then again, Joey stood on his way.

“Really? Why don’t you use the one that we built back there next to your office?”

“I don’t like that. The flush is broken.” Attempted to keep dodging his ‘friend’, but the more he did, the more the man blocked his space.

“Henry, it’s already late. Sure Linda must be waiting for you to at least eat some hot meal at home. Why don’t you just shut all this down for tonight and come back tomorrow morning? Rested, refreshed... you must be pretty tired to keep working by these hours, huh?” Was he trying to make Henry leave?

An unnerving thought that crossed Henry’s mind: he didn’t want him go for Bendy! Even more, Joey stretched his arm to reach behind Henry, nearly like trapping him, but he just shut off the lights from Henry’s office to then get back to his straight caned stand in front of him, chin slightly raised so he looked down to Henry, and an indelible smirk between his lips edges. He stepped back, letting Henry to move, but only to where the exit was, blocking the other side of the hallway.

“I’ll see you in the morning” Smiled, still uncanny.

Henry just glared at him, refusing to look away from that ‘gently’ smirk of him, like trying to identify a way to get through him and go to where Bendy were. But nothing. No choice. And Henry did nothing more but cross the exit gate, still staring at how Joey was still stood in the middle of the hallway and front of his office’s door. And then he left.

~~~~~~~~~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First flashback in the story!!  
> I must assume that whatever Joey did to Bendy that night should be painful enough for him to say 'no more'. But until Upperstories or The Lost Moongazer don't clarify that in their storyline, it's up to anyone to suppose what was that, because not even Henry got to know...  
> Ups! Spoiler somehow? It doesn't matter, 'cos in the next 2 days you'll receive the next chapter!  
> Thank you all for the kudos and support!  
> I hope you'll still enjoying this!!!  
> ~♥~


	4. And he was gone.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The glass can be filled just drop by drop. Just give it time to spills over the edge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright! We got an actually pretty large chapter in here. Why? Well, remember when I said I was writing this whole story in a shot and later I thought on divide it on chapters? It turns that I made a little mistake with one of them, and barely was 1 page long. So I decided to put that part in this one, that, by the way, _was already_ one of the longest chapters since it took 4 pages on Word. So yay! Long Chapter!!  
> ...  
> But only for a week. I'll edit this then and put the first part in the previous chapter just to not cut the continuity~  
> Ok, let's keep with the story!!

~“After that...” Linda kept speaking, as her mind brought her back to the present in that living room in front of the three living toons, still telling the story of the night Bendy left. “...Henry told me he spent the next hours trying to figure out where you were: he walked around the building, peeked through every window he could, climbed the fire stairs up and down, sneaked into the outsides of the vent ducts; all for trying to hear a noise from you, see where you could be, but nothing in that time. The only reason he came back that night at home was because Joey was about to left the studio as well, and Henry didn’t want him to see him lurking around...” The idea of thinking of Henry like a creep stalker made Linda to snicker with a weak smirk before she paused to take a sip of water.

With every piece of past that the elder woman shared, Bendy felt like a heavy weight was filling the space in his stomach. Guilt, maybe? He narrowed his look towards the little devil that was sitting next to the woman, thinking of all the worries the man that was inside the tinny inky body had gone through because of him. If only those were all...

“Henry got home way nearly midnight.” Linda kept talking. “I welcomed him with a lot of reproaches and concerning about the time, him overworking, leaving the house and me alone with little to no response... pretty much the usual of us...” She admitted, kind of bashfully. “...But he didn’t response as usually. Even though, he stayed silent, letting me to talk but making me feel like if I was only shouting to the air. After a pause, I asked him what happened... and all he said to me was that ‘ _Joey did something to Bendy_ ’...”

Her voice broke a little with that last sentence, and she hurried herself so she could take a longer swallow from the glass. “I asked him how he was so sure about it, if he weren’t imagining things due his long hours of works, but didn’t answer. It was... hard for me to believe that Joey could ever get to be so... _ah_...!” Her voice was still trembling, unable to find a right word to describe him, but the toons’ imagination probably exceeded the way she tried to describe him.

“I just... couldn’t believe... but Henry spent the previous months telling how worried he was about his friend and how he had changed. He told me that Joey was different, more distant, yelling at everything and for anything, not even letting anyone to comment, complain or anything... I just... told him to leave it pass, that he was just stressed over the business running, the deadlines... that they could clarify things once they sit in a non-working environment... _I was_ the one trying... _trying_ to reunite them both, making some weekend lunch so we all could talk and relax... he was _our_ friend after all... but he _never came_...!”

With every new word coming through her mouth, her throat was dryly tightening, not allowing to the air pass with ease, so her voice started to rise to a high, distressing pitch, also unable to contain the tears flowing down by her cheeks. How long was she keeping all of this grief? None of the toons in front were able to react accordingly, just limited to stare in worrying awe as she started to hiccup in the way of the sobs she couldn’t contain anymore.

But next to her was Henry, who couldn’t bear see her so distressful... The first act that he was able to do since he sat with her in the same couch: he drew closer to her, and standing on his knees, he posed his hands on her, one in her shoulder and the other one in her forearm.

She looked up in slight surprise and gazed him grateful by his gesture, pretty much like when a child comes to just show affection. After all he was a child toon, wasn’t he? A new character, somehow? She didn’t really watch the show after Bendy left... Anyhow, this simple act refilled the strength on her to keep going with her memories, and to keep relating the last times she spent with her husband. And after wiping the tears with her sleeve on her free hand’s heel, raised her stare towards the bunch of toons sitting across the room.

“That same night, Henry barely could sleep; neither did I due all of him moving around. He apologized beforehand with me, but around the 5 in the morning, he got himself ready, took the car and left the house.” She tried to drink another sip of water, but got kind of startled to realize she already drank out the whole glass. Boris stood up to reach her empty glass and give her the one he was holding; he didn’t even touched its content, so he really didn’t care and she couldn’t refuse. Always been such a good boy that wolf... “His plan was to get into the studio some hours before Joey arrived there so he could have some time to find Bendy and see what happened the last night...”

Now was the turn of the wolf to stare to the little demon with chilling thoughts. His conscience weight forced him to slightly hunch his back as the remembrance of that early morning kicked his mind...

~That nearly night-morning, Henry arrived to the studio. Still was dark by the time, and there were some fading emergency lights that barely could show him where the door’s lock was. As he entered to the studio, tried his best to keep as silent as he could, thinking that probably the toons were still sleeping, and also considering that their room was where he wanted to look first. He was glad to say, anyway, that the wolf’s snores were loud enough to hide his movements. So up to look for Bendy.

Quietly tried to match every step of him with the snore’s rhythm, and gazed in the dark where they were sleeping. On the left side, the tall wolf on a high placed hammock, hanging a foot out of the edge as the other leg was bent, knee up, so he could keep himself inside of the hanging fabric. By his right side, the angel snuggled up on her cot, coating herself with a single sheet, and breathing deep and slow in the middle of her dreams. Bendy’s open trunk was in the far wall of the room; the sheets were sliding down from an edgy corner and a shadowy lump silhouette was in there, but that felt somehow... odd... like, too quiet.

“Bendy...” Whispered the man. “Hey, Bendy!” He stretched his hand to reach the lump of sheets, in order to push him a little and gently wake him up. “Bendy...? Ben—” But as soon as he did, the lump deflated, showing literally nothing but just a bunch bed sheets.

Holding one out of the trunk, worriedly, he approached to the wolf, trying to wake him up the same way he tried with the lump: pushing him a little, which caused to the hammock start to swing slightly. “Boris. Hey, Boris!”

“Hum...? Henry...? Wha- what time’s it?” Muttered Boris between some yawns. Noticeably, it wasn’t their usual waking up hours.

“Sorry, Boris, but have you seen Bendy? He’s not...” But he cut his sentence, staring to the sheet he still held in his hands. Boris, although, didn’t seem to notice this.

“Shouldn’t he be sleepin’ ‘ere?” The wolf said while rubbing his eye, too sleepy yet to process the information Henry was trying to transmit.

“No, Boris. He is not.” Pure and honest concern was shown as much in his factions as well in his tone, which he didn’t realize but his voice started to raise on volume, enough to wake the angel from her dreams.

“Henry, is that you...? What’s going...” She yawned. “...on...?”

He didn’t answer back. The swarm of ideas was buzzing on his mind as he kept staring at the sheets and started to breathe faster and faster. That’s when the toons realized of something going wrong.

“...Henry...”

“Henry, are you ok?”

His stare turned to an empty space in the air, as he slowly raised his head towards Alice. And after a long lost stare, Henry barely could mutter the worst idea he could recall from his buzzing mind.

“...Bendy’s missing...”

“What?!” Both toons exclaimed in unison.

“Bendy is missing!” He said with more clarity, and raced towards the door and to the studio offices, definitely not caring of keeping it quiet anymore. “Bendy?! Bendy!”

He rushed his way entering in each room he knew Bendy used to spend time. Under every desk he found, inside every closet he passed by. The recording room, the projection booth, the screening room, the music department, the workers’ lounge. He even dared to get into Joey’s office, but nothing. The last place he got into was his own office. He looked in and around, under the desk, behind and inside the drawers... Only to find over the same table a single post with a creaky handwriting that just spelled ‘ **SORRY** ’. Was this Bendy’s handwriting?

He picked it up, stared at it a while, like not understanding what it meant. He started to walk, less rushed and seemingly in autopilot. The sole place that his feet leaded him was back to the toons room.

As he approached, pretty slow compared to the way he left the room, both Alice and Boris were awaiting him in the door frame. Neither of them was holding a face that weren’t concerned ones. They stared at each other, with a million of ideas crossing through their minds but none that they wanted to bring up. Henry finally got where they were, with an empty expression that simply chilled them both.

“Henry? What’s... going on... where is Bendy?” The angel was pretty scared to ask, but did anyways. Henry just slowly stared at them, and showed them the note he found.

“Is this... Bendy’s handwriting...?” He said with a thread of voice. The toons shocked in sight of it. Alice had to shut her mouth with both her hands, and Boris was unable to contain the tears torrent flowing down by his muzzle as also held his ears tight, nearly tearing them apart.

“No, no, _no_! This _can’t_ be happenin’!” Yelled the wolf, as with his hands turned into fists with what he covered his eyes. “Why didn’t I _listened_?!” Reproached to himself.

“Wait. Listen? Listen what?” Henry rushed, worried gaze to the tall toon.

Boris tried to contain himself before speak. He took his fists down to his own chest after wiping some tears, though they didn’t stop flowing. And with a guilt weight that he tried to support stiffing his shoulders, he gazed shyly to the artist.

“He told me som’thing... last night. I didn’t think he’s bein’ serious, I thought t’was just som’ kinda joke, but...”

Boris had hard to keep telling it. His hands still undone with the clenches and now his eyes tightly closed as he started to whimper. He felt unexpectedly a hand that Henry put on his shoulder. He looked up at him, but the man was still holding that serious gaze. He had to keep talking.

“Bendy told me he’s leavin’, that couldn’t keep with Joey an’ that he’d get outta the studio. I never thought he was talkin’ seriously! He off’red me to go with ‘im, but...!”

Henry’s face just dropped. He crumpled the note inside his new forming fist, and quickly turned back, heading to the exit and punching to the walls in his way. The moment he was about to cross the gate, a man appeared in his way. Joey arrived to the building. As soon he crossed his sight, Henry felt how his hands were heating; he really wanted to hit him in that cynic smirk of him. But he contained.

“Henry? What a hardworking man! You got pretty early!” Snored Joey. But all he got from his friend was a shove from his shoulder, as he watched him heading towards the exit, and left, leaving Joey with a confused stare right to the slammed door.

The moment Henry got into his car he sat in front of the wheel and started to hit it with all the rage he was containing, honking the klaxon a little, and making it sound like if a flock of ducks were around for the ones not acquainted with the noise. He held tight the wheel as he tried to breathe (more like growl) out his anger, and after a while, he started the car and headed to the studio’s surrounding. If Bendy ran away during the night, then he couldn’t be too far, probably, he hoped...

“Bendy?! Bendy! Bendy, where are you?!” He shouted from the window while he was driving. He drove through the streets near the studio, and from the lack of an answer, he started to tour farther and farther streets. He was driving more and more away from the building, and the farther he was getting, the more harrowed he turned. He didn’t even recognize those streets... He was just driving in circles, this wasn’t leading to anywhere. He needed a clear plan. So he held the wheel and headed to drive his way back home.

And there was Linda, finishing with the morning task as she always did. When she heard the door slamming, couldn’t help but let out a little yelp in surprise to see his husband back so... strangely early... it wasn’t even his lunch time and was already at home... She tried to greet him, ask him what was going on, but he was pretty numbed, with a straight stare, heading to his home desk.

Having pushed his chair aside, Henry pulled and threw nearly every drawer he took, opened each cupboard door around. Checked the desk, the shelves; nothing. He headed then towards the kitchen, and did the same. Linda was right behind him, trying to get any word from her husband to explain what was going on, but was even worse than the last night: he straightly was _not_ listening to anything that weren’t his own thoughts.

All of the mess he was leaving just stopped by the time he reached an old city map on a drawer. Then he headed back to his desk and unfolded it on the table.

Linda still was trying to get his attention, but all Henry was doing was just mumbling some incomprehensible rambling as he started to draw some shapes over the map. It wasn’t until Linda grabbed the pen from his hand that he, almost automatically, followed the route of the pen right in front of his wife’s glare.

“Would you _please_ explain WHAT in Pete’s Sake are you pretending?” Said Linda about to boil over all the mess he was leaving; apparently he didn’t realize that she just finished to clean all up. A shameful look took place on Henry’s, as he saw his wife holding up the pen, waiting for an explanation. So he took the chair again to get sit, and collapsed in his backs at the same time he held his head up and eyes covered with a hand that was resting on its elbow over the desk.

“Sorry, Linda. I just... I can’t think much now. Something happened...” And he froze his words in the tip of his tongue. Linda wasn’t going to be so easy to convince with bare answers, so straight to the point: “...Bendy left.”

“Wait. What? What do you mean?”

“That Bendy’s gone, Linda! He _left_ the studio, ran away! He... he _escaped_...” His voice was barely a whisper with this last word. Couldn’t contain it anymore, he broke on rage and sorrow and just let go a fall of tears down from his covered eyes.

Linda couldn’t do much, didn’t know how by the moment, so she just knelt upon him trying to comfort him.

“He... he couldn’t have gone so far...” Said the man as he tried to regain his composure. With no warning, he took the pen from his wife’s hand and started to re-study the map he had on his desk. “He gotta be somewhere. I have to find him before something happens to him. _Something_...” The hand holding the pen was notoriously shaking, unable to write down anything clear. Linda noticed him and just held his shaking hand and stared at him.

“ _We’re_ going to find him. Together. I promise you that I’ll help you, but now you need to get back to the studio. If really Joey has something to do with all of this, well...” She didn’t want to think of him that way, but Henry had been seeing some things around; he had told her plenty of times before, and she couldn’t deny it this time. “Better for you and the others to stay out of any troubles. Leaving like you just did may have not been the greatest decision you’ve made.”

Henry gave her a relieved, lovingly stare. No doubts why he married her... She picked her own sleeve and dried some of the resting tears that still were at the man’s face, and he couldn’t do more than hold her soft hand and caress it with his own face, kissing it tenderly.

“Ok.” He agreed, with a sweet smile on his lips.

“And...” She wouldn’t let her chance pass. “You gotta let me drive.”

“What? No way!” He started to giggle, but the look on the lady in front of him was pretty much serious.

“C’mon, Henry! That way you could focus on your map and you won’t get it rough on late hours when you’ll need to sleep.” That actually seemed reasonable. But the idea of accepting it was still held on the man’s tip of the tongue, tightening the lips so he wouldn’t let it escape. “Henry.” Last call from his wife. Honestly, he didn’t think on what more choices he had.

“Alright, alright. You’ll drive!” He ended accepting. “But don’t let anything happen to the car.”

“Oh. So you’re more worried of the car’s safety than mine, huh? Ok, I get it...” the woman mocked.

“Wait, Linda! Of course not! That’s not true!” He pulled her towards him and made her sit on his lap, so he could hug her and kiss her once more. “Thank you for all, _Pretty_ ” That might just be a way to call her, but Henry always felt it like a nickname only he had for her. If there was anyone on Earth able to cheer him up, only was his Linda.

“Go back to the studio. I’ll take care of all the mess you left around the house.” Shame on Henry, he completely forgot about that.

In less than 15 minutes Henry got back to the studio. By the moment he turned off his car, he couldn’t do much but just stare. He’d have to go to where Joey was, probably explain himself about his sudden leaving. But he didn’t want to. There was only 1 thought surrounding his mind: what happened to Bendy. And he would not stay calm until he gets the answers. So he got off the car and went to the studio.

He went through the halls, passing his office, the toons room, even passing every other worker there that stared on awe of how late the head animator was arriving. But Henry had his route clear: To Joey’s office.

When he got there, he stayed still a little, staring at the doorknob. All he needed was to breathe the anger out and put his hand on the knob, but it’d need a moment. He held the doorknob strongly, and after a last breathe, he got into the office, being strangely greeted by the head of the studio, like if nothing had happened.

“Henry? Hey, come in! I hope you’re ok, after the little show you gave me in the morning... Not like I got to ask you what happened, but I told to the rest of the guys you were feeling bad, some ache on your stomach. So you don’t need to worry about those gossip voices out there.” Henry was sadly right: the man that was supposed to be his friend was totally blinded to the reason of his mood, like if he had nothing to do with all of Bendy’s. Did he even know the little demon was gone? But with an ice cold glare, Henry took sit in front of Joey’s desk.

“What happened to Bendy?” Henry said with a deep, even voice.

“Mhm... what do you mean?” Joey hadn’t even paid attention a bit, writing some things down that kept his mind busy.

“What. Happened. To Bendy.” He said again, slower, giving emphasis to each one of the words.

“Ah! That little mischievous devil...” Finally responded, but not giving real answers to his concerns. “You know how he is. Probably he is just wandering around, throwing some tantrums... You know, the usual. Surely he will get back as soon he’s hungry or in need.”

‘ _Get back_ ’? He _did_ know something. Henry just needed to press a little harder.

“What ‘ _needs_ ’ would he need?”

“Needs? Well, he is made of ink. He can’t stay without it for too long, can he?” Was he meaning of some kind of loophole about the toons’ creation? Why he was never aware of that? “Once he feels thirsty, dry or whatever, he’ll be back to his home. If he doesn’t, well...”

Henry couldn’t believe his ears, less could believe to the sharp coolness coming from the mouth of the man across him. His eyes just wide opened in stared shock by the things the man, _their creator_ , was saying.

“...surely he’d be missed. But if it goes that far, we can contact the same ones from the Gent Company that first worked on their lives...“

“For God’s Sake, Joey! Do you even listen what you are saying?!” Henry interrupted, slamming the table and rising over Joey’s calm seat. “They’re NOT just drafts that can be erased and drawn the times you want! THEY ARE LIVING SENTIENT PEOPLE!”

“...People?” Henry couldn’t get why, but in wheezes Joey was like trying to contain a cackle about to burst. “Henry, you really must have felt bad. They’re just _ink blots_! Some _oversized_ ink blots. And guess what we do have by far: Ink! We could have as many Borises or Alices or Bendys as we want. And all it needs is just a simple call and-“

But he couldn’t keep leading his words out, as the enraged animator just connected a straight knock to his chin, throwing him off his chair and slamming the floor. The man stayed stunned a while, holding his own chin, trying to move it to where it fitted better, and is when he realized of a little strain of blood he spitted out of his mouth. In awe, he turned up to see the man that knocked him, who still was holding his fists clenched and breathing heavily.

“I can’t believe you, Joey... I just... I don’t know you anymore...” Stated Henry in a thread of voice as tried to control his breathing. “All of this... the studio, the show, Bendy... This was our dream! You... you said to me that we’re going to bring our show to life, and I never thought at first you were so literal about it. But there they are... And now you call them just **_ink blots_**?!” He could feel how his fist was withdrawing slowly, ready to launch another hit if it were necessary.

“Bendy is our creation. Bendy is _MY_ first creation! _I_ drew him. _I_ put him on the screen! And you know what...?” Henry paused, trying to breathe a little slower so his words wouldn’t slip in his anger. He stared a moment to his own fist, thinking about his decision to be made. “Forget that I’ll keep drawing him. I’d draw Boris, I’d draw Alice, the Butcher Gang, _anything_! Even backgrounds or whatever it’s needed. But until Bendy gets back, I’m _not_ drawing him. _Ever again_. Good luck finding someone else that could do the task; he is the main character after all.”

And then, he just turned his back and walked away, not leaving a chance to Joey to explain himself or even to grab his cane to stand up from the hit the other man gave to him.

~~~~~~~~~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So far, I've seen about 3 or 4 AUs where Joey is a good guy and can actually be loved by his wholeheartedly good nature (but also can be a little clueless idiot, so people anyways want to punh him just for the sake). _THIS_ is **NOT** that kind of AU, so that smirk of his is the first target to connect a nice hit (the second one is not appropiate for children).  
> Anyhow~ Did you like my bit of sugar of the Henry&Linda fluff stuff? It might not end here, but probably you'll need to wait a litle for their next moment. Sorry~  
> I hope you've enjoyed this train of distress!  
> Kudos, comments, food; anything is well received!  
> See ya in a couple of days~  
> ♥♥♥


	5. He made up a plan.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The way a machine keeps working with all its pieces broken is really terrifying if you think about it; you never know when it's really gonna shatter...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY!! Sorry, really sorry! I know this should've been out yesterday but the lights went out the whole day and it just returned when I was heading to sleep already.  
> BUT! Now you have it!  
> Again sorry if you waited, but I hope you like Linda's pun ideas!  
> Enjoy~!!!

~“Henry had never had a fight as strong as he did that day, with anyone, even less with the one he used to call ‘his friend’” Linda kept talking, as if such memories tides were bringing her back and forth between ages.

“That afternoon was the first one in all the years the studio started to run that Henry got back at home on the time he was supposed to do but never did. As he came, he told me all that _happened_...” Then again her voice started to sound highly pitched and like if it was hanging by a thread. Despair took again place as her memories flooded her mind, bursting again in the form of sorrow tears. “I just... couldn’t believe it... I _still_ can’t believe it... how he referred about you with such _despise_... you were supposed to be their _first_ _great_ _achievement_ , but...” She couldn’t keep talking.

Some of the images she still held about that man were the ones of Henry’s best friend: the ones that showed him as his husband’s best man at their wedding. The ones that, with spark in his eyes, introduced Henry into that big of project that turned to be the studio, making him co-founder and the main animator in charge of what would be their greatest hit. The ones that showed him saving her back-then-boyfriend from a landmine about to explode beneath him during the first war when they were only teenagers, young men of 19 or 20 years old, at cost of his own mobility and a couple of surgeries that confined him to walk with that cane... The ones that showed him sharing those weekend picnics, barbeques  and meals and stayed at their home, _this_ house, until the night was nearly turning into day, sharing ideas, plans, even acting out a little to take some ideas for future shows and sketches. So gleeful, so charming... how could a man like that have turned into such monstrosity of person? What feared the most in Linda’s heart was to think that he’d always been like this, and were just faking the way he had been around them, around _her_.

The toons were perplexed over the tale of Henry’s past life, all of them. Even the little one, Henry himself, who couldn’t decide how to feel about all of these pieces of memory; these felt so apart and distant from him, even when he was the one mainly referred on these. By the other hand, couldn’t feel more eagerly if he wanted: he _did_ hit Joey on where he deserved it! But not like the moment was the very best to brag about it, not with the way all the emotions were flooding them, even himself, but mostly his wife.

Linda tried to calm herself, breathing in and out, controlling those sobs that were coming out from her chest. She could see the way the toons across her seat were looking at her, willing stare that begged her to continue her story, even the one next to her, who with a deep compassionate gaze was still trying to comfort her. She felt the tender hold that the little demon laid on her shoulder; she put her hand over his, and straightening her composure, kept talking.

“As days passed, Henry did his best to keep his mind cold and focused. He couldn’t let himself to heat over every time he met with Joey, but he didn’t hand it easy for Henry either...” Her voice turned cold by the time. Right was that she still held those memories of the good man he used to be, but she also remembered how infuriated she was every time that her husband got back home with any problems he had all over Joey’s _fault_. There was no other way to label it.

“...In need for some new artists to animate the absent Bendy, he pushed Henry’s desk to a little corner in a hallway, on clear view for anyone that was passing by; Joey tore down Henry’s office so he could put at least 4 more desk in a new space and the new animators could be there. And Henry spent his time being pushed while he worked by people carrying some building materials, boxes, even when that Wally guy started to clean the hallways... But he did his best to keep it cool down.” She let escape a deep breath, like trying to cool her own mind so she could keep without breaking her voice again.

“By the weekends, he taught me how to drive, and I tried practicing during the mornings after he left to work. The fences... didn’t have a good time around...” Linda tried to mock, remembering the more than a few times when she rushed herself and pulled the reverse instead of going forward, crashing a few times.

“But every night after 8, I went to a street close to the studio, waiting for Henry to come out, and we started our tours around trying to figure where you were, Bendy. He held the map, guiding me where to go, and seeking for any sign that would lead us to your whereabouts. More than once we got to stop to see some black cats hissing in some alley... white face, white spot below its neck and the front paws also white like if they were wearing tinny gloves... I nearly took one to home to make Henry feel better with something that could remind of you, but he wasn’t so enthusiastic about the idea...” It looked like she was trying to ease the heavy atmosphere that flooded their surrounds, but like in her tale with Henry not amused by the cat idea, neither were the toons. Not that they were reproaching her efforts, but they were too into the past tales that they really didn’t give it a chance.

“...We might have toured the whole city about 4 or 5, even 6 times if only I could catch the count... Every time, he said that maybe you were moving around, so we started back from zero and over again to check every street, each alley, the parks, old buildings and all, over and over again. We even got further, looking for old barns and sort of, but nothing... I suggested Henry that maybe the police could help, but he always said to me that there was no sane way to explain that we were looking for a missing real living cartoon character. Sadly he was right... As months passed by, the faith in Henry for finding you started to break his spirit…” Her voice started to sound more like a whisper, like if her own throat didn’t allowed her to even think on saying something like that. Nothing that a sip of water couldn’t calm.  

“He spent more nights awake, staring to that piece of paper that you left. He kept it on his wallet, like a reminder of your pain while you were under Joey’s domains; that’s how Henry used to call it... I used to stare at him for hours, joining to him, trying to comfort him... he looked so defeated, so tired... God forgive me, but I even _asked_ him to _give_ _up_ after a long...!” She couldn’t mask the shame on her words, as new tears started to flood her sight and running down her face. All she did for a few seconds was to hold her forearm against her eyes, so she could stop the tears from running down, even when she totally wetted her own sleeve. “But he didn’t. He _couldn’t_...! He couldn’t _forgive_ himself for _not_ _protecting_ you enough and...”

Surely she wasn’t the only one crying. The guilty feeling Bendy had was more than just a weight over his small silhouette. Why the old man would have spent so much time and resources just for him? It wasn’t like he didn’t have his own life and own problems to also waste his energies on just a little... a little _oversized_ _ink blot_ , like Joey said. Like, he could have been erased from over the Earth, and no one would ever know he _was_ even there...! No one... except for Henry... Oh, God! He really wanted so bad to just rush on and squeeze the tiny one in a deep tight hug...! But Linda was there... He couldn’t, she didn’t know... He needed to tell her, somehow make her to notice...! But would Henry want to? He had told them to not, but she was here, _they_ were here with him, why wouldn’t want to?

His face and whole body were deeply clenched for sure, as he felt how all on him passed from stiffed to somehow relaxed when a slightly squeeze was done in his forearm by the angel. Was she thinking about the same he was? She passed a tearful gaze to the little demon across in the long couch, and then back to cross her stare with Bendy. They both clearly knew they couldn’t keep Linda from all the truth behind her husband, but neither had any ideas of how could that go or even if Henry was willing to do it first, but that last one was the hardest to tell.

“He... He couldn’t...” Linda tried to keep with the story, even when some hiccups forced her to stop the air from leaving her own throat. “He couldn’t let you... just to _fade away_... like if _nothing_ had happened... He wouldn’t let it...” The air was again allowing her to talk, so she took the instance to breathe in and out, trying to find her own voice once more, and wiping some of the trails the tears left on her cheeks, she eased her tone.

“He... after months of trying and ending up with nothing... he made a promise... He promised... that if at least he could protect you both back on the studio...” Now her stare was straight fixed upon the two taller toons: the angel and the wolf. “... If he could, at least he would be doing something worth for Bendy’s memory... and that meant in the end... taking you out from there...”

Boris was the first one stiffing his shoulders as an attempt to support the weight of the guilty remembrance that stage of their lives brought to his mind: Henry was so advocated on keep them away from the studio’s head wrath, that he even got to saw not just few disputes between that man and the animator. Henry tried to kept them safe, bringing them all they could need, escorting them to wherever they wanted or needed to go around the studio, asking to anyone near to warn them if Joey was close... heck, even taking guard on their room door to make sure they were sleeping well. Boris saw all those times with such pity; after Bendy left he was well aware of the animator’s intentions. Not like he needed to directly ask him, but actually there was no other clear reason for him doing all those tasks; not like it stopped him to try and talk with the man about his thoughts and feelings.

Henry seemed so drained that time, like if sheer stubbornness was the only thing that kept him still on his self-imposed duty. Now Boris felt a little more relieved after Linda told them that she was the one driving the car, letting him to rest from at least one of the most dangerous things he could be doing back then with his state.

Henry had trusted on Boris all his intentions, everything that he pretended; he talked to him about how he was fixing his house so they could move there after he’d take them out of the studio, told him everything that he learned to keep them safe, asked him to save as many inkwells as he could during that time as well as he was handing him some extra bottles to assure a vast stock, even stated to him that the day he’d take them out of there would be the same day he’ll leave the studio for once and for good. And the day that Henry disappeared, Boris couldn’t believe that he just left without them, after all that he did for them, after all that he promised to them... but after all that last happened, all made sense. Could have been merely possible that due their talks was how Joey found all about his attempts of them to break out? Was Boris too loud with his own ideas about it?

“And then, finally came: the day he had everything ready. He even assured to have checked twice in case something was missing...” Linda kept talking. It seemed like they were reaching the end of this memory trip. “He chose a Friday. I remember that because he always said that he rather pick a day where nearly all of the employees were already out of work, and Friday always was the less concurred day due permissions, early-started weekends, and the work hours were simply less on Fridays.”

The odds of being a day named like it was their ‘free day’ was also a thought that sneaked into Linda’s mind, over which she just let a sigh out, like if there were no more strength to leave a simple snicker out.

“That day I took him to work. He told me to wait him on the back alley of the studio, that he’d try to sneak you out by the emergency exit at the fire stairs and that he would bring his stuff out with all that you could get to need, just like he planned on quitting his job for once. So I did as I was told, and waited... I _waited_ for... for _something_ to happen...”

~~~~~~~~~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...But what do you expect it happened if we already know that Henry is the little Buddy...  
> And sorry, but I _needed_ to put the cat joke somewhere! It's part of this Linda's nature~ (What do I mean with this? Better find out further in the story~ ^3^)  
> And as always (but now mostly) Thanks for your patience! I'll return to shedule as it should!   
> Everything you'd like to tell me is well received!!  
> ♥♥♥


	6. Close to the end.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> May the memory be as fragile as glass, but its shards still cut, deep and painful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YOU CAN'T BLAME ME!! It's NOT Midnight yet in here!!! So technically I'm still on date!!!  
> Anyways, I got distracted, that's all. My bad~  
> And just to say, what could be Linda worst fear _before_ he'd enter in the studio? Well, take a look at this -> ( http://upperstories.tumblr.com/post/166442842913/hatim-au-the-fight ) and you'd have an idea also of why Wally wasn't my choise of the one who'd talk to Linda.  
> That's it.  
> Enjoy!

Once again she felt like the words were trying hard on running out of her tongue, and so she started to take sharp gasps in order to contain them. She was close to the end, she couldn’t let her sorrow and anguish to trail her off of what she mentally had prepared once and over since she found out the toons. They deserved to know, they _needed_ to know that Henry didn’t just give up on them. She couldn’t let that betrayal sting were still attached to their cores, because that might be their way to describe all that Henry ended up doing: promises that turned into nothing since he was the one that left them alone; but that wasn’t the true! They had to know... she had to redeem his name...

“After hours, nothing happened, and all I could just think was that I hoped that he didn’t end up beating Joey up again, that this was supposed to be a clean out for all of you, but not even that... I got impatient, and after a long while, I just left the car parked and headed to the front door to wait for something... It was getting really late, and still nothing, until I saw a man getting out: it was the music director...” Like a mental echo, the entire main trio popped up a single name: Sammy Lawrence.

“I came close to him to ask him if he knew anything from Henry. I didn’t want to tell him the reasons since all of his plans were supposed to be out of Joey’s sight. I told him that I had something for him and that I got there to surprise him. But then he told me that he _left_ _long_ _ago_... I didn’t get that, but I tried to keep it cool. He told me that all the studio heard their ‘little disagreement’ between he and Joey, and after all that passed, Joey showed up to tell them that Henry was leaving, that some of the members asked if they at least could say goodbye, but that _he already left_...”

And then she broke apart. She couldn’t contain the peaks her voice was reaching as pitch in some whisper tones, and now either was trying somehow to stop the tears flow. She was notoriously exhausted; all this had been just an emotional rollercoaster and re-living every single moment wasn’t making it less hard.

“I did my best to look as calm and foolish as possible. Even I replied to the music man that ‘how bad... that I’d then have to get back home quickly if I wanted to keep the surprise’, but everything just... _drifted away_... Henry was _not_ coming back and either you were coming home with _us_...” _But without Henry there was no more us_ ; she fought to keep that thought just in mind and not let that slip from her lips, which she clenched to try and keep it in her insides.

“I... went back to the car, and got back home as soon as I could... I don’t know, like I was trying to convince me that what that man told me, the plan we made, just everything... were just, like, a dream... that I’d get back home and I’d have to wait ‘til the late night to see him coming back... but...” Her tears torrent flowed so evenly, that both trails met by her chin, leaking down to wet her skirt’s lap. Sometimes, she twitched her hands back to her, making the glass she was still holding to line down with the tears fall. “I stayed the whole night awake until dawn, waiting _so stupidly_ for him to appear through the door... I knew he wouldn’t, but I... just _waited_...”

“... _And that day, we become... us..._ ” From his insides, Buddy was making his own conclusions after all that the lady next to them had told. Henry could feel his partner sobbing back there, and wasn’t clear how he could comfort him since himself was unable to control his own river of sorrow. A tear trail formed down by their cheek, but they weren’t sure who started it; probably both, after all no one in the room were able to contain their own emotions by the time. All that Henry wanted was just to lay next to his wife, hug her tightly, let all the distress to release down as crying; but all he dared to do was just grip himself around her arm.

“The very next day, I called the police. I told them that I left him on the work and I waited for him to leave, but never appeared. They started to register all on my house, even the car, like if he were hiding somewhere around... All that they found was his wallet. That’s... kinda funny...” She tried to release a slight chuckle, but was too weak to even seem like it was. “I didn’t notice he forgot his wallet on the car seat before leaving... The last thing I said to him was that I hoped for him not get in any bigger troubles with Joey, that already had been much; to get out as clean as possible and that I’d be waiting him... When the officers handed me his wallet, a piece of paper fell of it: the note that he found on his desk, with crumple marks on it... The last thing I’d ever have from Henry...”

By then her voice and face showed just deep weakness and defeat. She didn’t care of struggling against her grief anymore. Curiously, that moment was when she held the straighter posture that she’d ever did despite all the overwhelming weight of the past. Her stare lined to the nothing, blank expression that just let her cry to flow down.

“The police even went to the studio, interrogated all the members that they could, but all just got messier since a great part of the original employees were quitting and leaving the place. When they asked, they all replied the same thing that Joey had told them when he disappeared. And when they tried to interrogate Joey, he just rambled, not really answering... he always was so good at that... But the case around the studio got bigger than anyone would have thought, now that a growing number of people were reported missing among the passing months. But there was actually no hint that could lead them to what was going on... they just... disappeared... all of them... After a while running the investigation with no ends, they declared the studio for closure, ‘to make it easier investigate’, they said. And after that, the second war started, leaving the studio and the case for oblivion. The studio was left on abandon and some urban legends started to grow around it like if it was a haunted house... but nothing happened after that...”

That seemed the end of her story. All of the toons, Boris, Alice, Bendy, even the little one next to her, couldn’t contain any longer the cries that bumped out from their chest. If cartoon laws were applying in that reality, they’d be already drowning in a room flooded with their tears; but things don’t work that way here.

After a few minutes of silence that only was interrupted by the sobs of the group, and trying to get back her own composure in the middle of the distress that she was sunk in, Linda shook her head a little as an attempt to banish those heavy emotions that she was dealing with. And blinking a couple times with tightness, she let out a deep sigh that allowed her to draw back in her face a grateful smile.

“But that doesn’t matter right now, ‘cause you’re finally here! I mean, of course _Henry_ would’ve loved to be here with you, with all of us, but I’m deeply sure that he, wherever he is right now, must be so thankful that you could make it out. That you were able to reunite _here_ , in _his_ very own home! Even more, if Henry _were here_ , I’d assure you that _he_ would have reacted even more eagerly about find that, after _all_ these years, you were able to make it for your own, Bendy. He would be so curious about how you made it... _Henry_ had so many plans for when you’re out of the studio... ”

For Linda it wasn’t even slightly obvious, but every time she referred to her ‘late husband’, as the good Christian she was, the group of toons twitched a little, like if they were dodging some pebbles that were thrown at them, but it was worse for the littlest one next to her.

Every mention of him, ‘what Henry would have wanted’ ‘Henry would have said that’, couldn’t have felt more accusatory. Sure, ‘Henry’ was sitting right next to her, but she _didn’t_ _know_ , she _didn’t have_ to know. Why would she? It was better for her if she could have stayed with the idea of him already dead, gone or whatever. But then why she couldn’t talk about something else, literally, _anything else_ that weren’t about him? Why couldn’t she just... _move on_? Forget him? Come on, her missing husband couldn’t be the sole thing she had been thinking for over 30 years! _Why didn’t she just move on with her life?!_

“You should have moved on...”

The words of the little one didn’t just keep as a thought. With shame in his stare, he realized that in fact he had muttered that phrase, leading the puzzled looks of all over him. Some amount of fear accrued on him that pulled his head down at the same time he was trying to look up, to reach Linda’s stare, who was just looking as confused as the rest. She was about to say something, but before she could even have the chance, the little demon released his grip to her, scooted away and hopped down of the couch, fiddling once again his tail in his hands as he headed back to the kitchen.

~~~~~~~~~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And.... nope, if you see the chapter's count, this is not the end. Just the end of Linda's tellstory.  
> Thank you all for keeping up with this!!  
> Anything is well appreciated with love~  
> ♥♥♥


	7. Who's Buddy.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Every coin has two sides, but for some reason you'd rather chose 'face' over 'tails'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, now we come to Buddy's explanation. This was based on all the info I could collect from Upperstories Tumblr about the little pipsqueak. I tried to do my homework, here you got the results~  
> Enjoy!

“I, ah... I’m sorry, I didn’t want to ask to not seem so rude, but who is the little one? Henry only presented me you three. Was he a new addition after you left or...?” Linda inquired, but all the trio could do by then was just stare to each other with frowned, worried look.

“Who tells ‘er?”

“We don’t even know if he wants to.”

“She ‘lready told us all she had. We can’t give ‘er nothin’ back.”

“Well, that would be disrespectful...”

“ _Ejem!_ ”

‘ _Not as disrespectful as secretly chatter while she waits for a coherent answer_ ’, the toons granted shamefully. They three stared still between them, not realizing of the air they weren’t breathing as they tried to figure how to proceed.

“He’s... a long story...” Bendy finally released.

“Well, I don’t think that longer than the one I just told you” Linda pointed out, leaning back in the couch and crossing her arms.

Bendy could feel how her stare lined directly to him. He still wasn’t sure of how to start this entire story. But after all, she wanted to know about Buddy, so maybe he could just focus on that part of his tale. He took a deep breath and started with his part.

“Well... when I got back to the studio, I, ah, found ‘im! ...or more like he found me... heh...” Bendy giggled nervously. “He actually saved my butt back there more times then I could count...” That didn’t even count as a summary.

“And? Because if _that_ ’s the story I can’t even say what’s the ‘long’ part.”

“Actually...” The angel took the word. “By the time that Henry... _left..._ ” It was hard to find a way to refer about the man trapped in a toony body, so she went on take a term that the lady already used. “...Joey had a hard time on getting the new animators to make a good script of Bendy, so he said they needed a replacement... And Buddy came up.”

“’ _Buddy_ ’? Joey named that little buddy ‘ _Buddy’_?" Linda snored. Maybe she didn’t know Joey quite well, but if there were something, she knew he wasn’t so unimaginative to name a little toon such way.

“No! Well... we really didn’t know what his name was. Joey always referred to him with... nicknames...” Alice stared blank a while at the memory of the cruel names as ‘rough draft’, ‘Bendy-gone-wrong’ or simply ‘mistake’ that Joey used to call the little one. Now wasn’t a surprise why he felt so happy with a name that simply meant ‘friend’. “When Bendy found him, he started to call him ‘buddy’, and... yeah, his name is Buddy now.” Even though it was somehow the truth, Alice felt her own words so shallow in her ears that not even she felt like up to believe in it, and probably Linda wasn’t either.

And all they needed to confirm their thoughts was a stern gaze from the woman across. She scanned the group, which was pretty stiffed as they waited for some reaction from her side. And after just a few seconds, she just released a deep sigh, leaned over her lap and kept staring at the glass held in her hands.

“Guys, I’m gonna be honest. Maybe I’ve made some mistakes in my life, but I know how to tell when someone is hiding stuffs from me when I see them. And at this point, you guys are being too obvious about it.” She then lifted her sight, watching again to the group, as she reached the glass to leave it on the coffee table. “Ok, I get it. Bendy left, Henry disappeared, then Buddy came up, and the studio went closed. Bendy got back, he met Buddy, somehow went through all that place to find you and managed to bring you all here. Am I right?” Everyone in front of her nodded; now that was a summary. “What I still don’t get is why you keep talking about him as if you didn’t know his existence since you were in the same place all those years.”

Both Alice and Boris lowered their gaze. She was right: all those years in the same hell of place and never noticed him? They couldn’t feel more ashamed.

“That’s ‘cos we didn’t know...” Boris recognized, unable to look up to her. “When we first met Buddy, Joey always kept ‘im ‘way from us... he always was so mean at ‘im; we didn’t even know he could talk ‘til we found ‘im with Bendy.”

Memories of the little devil being scolded, punished, locked out and unable to defend himself from Joey flooded his mind. Without Henry there, they felt just impotent, unable to do something. He always thought back then ‘if Henry were here’; and after finding out what happened to Henry, looking back to the time when the little one first appeared, he couldn’t help but recall an unusual look that the tiny toon didn’t had anymore, and it was a ring around his black pie-cut eyes, brightly colored with an ocean blue... just like Henry’s used to be... _God dammed_! Why he never put the pieces together? Boris really couldn’t get rid of the guilt for ever dared to think that this man just left them by their own luck.

Bendy couldn’t help but think of all the loneliness they both, Henry and Buddy, must had been through. At least they had one to each other, but thirty years trapped, unable to cry for help, with no clue of their own identity... How many troubles he could have saved them –Him! Only Henry that time– if he only would have stayed? That was all he could think while lining his stare to the kitchen’s doorframe. The little toon was leaning back on it, still twiddling with his tail, until he noticed the look of the imp over him, and stepped back inside the kitchen, out of sight. And Bendy shook his head before the memories of their first encounter.

“When I first met Buddy, all his face’s drippin’ ink and he couldn’t talk, only weird noises coming from ‘im when tried to scream or sorta... and his eyes... He didn’t have any eyes! I, ah... I don’t know what Joey did with the little pipsqueak, but he was just such a mess...”

“Wow, it’s hard to believe how Joey did so many mistakes on him to make him. Definitely he’s not like you...”

“He is _not_ a mistake, ok? He is _our_ friend, live here with _us_ and... He just never deserved what Joey made of him...” Linda’s previous words were sharply cut by Bendy’s statement. She really didn’t want to refer about him that way, but that seemed to have pulled a nerve about it. And maybe Bendy was slightly rude on her, but after all they went through, he wasn’t letting anyone to mess with the little guy.

And the room once again was filled with the heavy weight of guilt sponsored by the toons own grief. Linda hardly couldn’t notice their state, and her heart truly clenched over their tale. But a glance to where the little buddy was hiding made her lips to stretch in a slightly lopsided smile.

“But even after all of that...” Linda said, trying to spread reassurance to the group. “...somehow you managed to heal him, don’t you?” Dubiously, Bendy nodded, and Linda kept going. “His eyes look fine, and maybe I only heard a sole sentence from him, but it seems like he’s also capable to speak perfectly fine, don’t he?” Again, a single nod, but at least this time Bendy’s stare rose from the blank pit that he was looking before. “Not even that: _You_ even managed to find all of them and bring them here! Bendy, out of the studio, away from Joey...!”

The lady was smiling with such reassuring glimpse that Bendy started to feel less shame and more warmth from looking at his friends, despite anything that they all had to gone through.

“ _But_...”

Oh, great, a ‘but’. Linda now held a stern stare again, and Bendy could feel how any confidence he was starting to gain just dropped.

“...There’s something that I still don’t get, and is why he started to act so elusive. I mean, the little guy was just next to me, patting me and comforting me, and all of sudden he just walked away and hid! Do you have any idea of what happened with him?”

And the group just froze with the thought, staring once again between them, trying to find any explanation that could satisfy the woman’s inquiries.

“He’s, uh... He’s just pretty shy...?” It was all that Bendy managed to respond.

“Really.” Linda shot an unimpressed gaze at him, certainly not quite believing the imp’s excuse. “Bendy, sweetie, remember what I told you about hiding things? You’re not too good at that either. That little buddy ain’t quite as shy as you say, so what’s his problem?”

Bendy felt like cornered before the so-inquisitive woman across the room. He already told everything that could say about _Buddy_ , so what else could he say? He glanced between his friends, looking for something that might help him, but they also looked like ran out of ideas.

The woman’s gaze surely felt like burning. She waited for something else, but he couldn’t just spit it all out; Henry wouldn’t want to...

“I... dunno... There’s no more I could tell ya.”

“Are you lying to me?”

Honestly, he didn’t expect that question from her.

“Bendy.”

“I... ah...”

“Tell me!”

“I CAN’T! OK? I can’t tell you!”

And after that, silence. She didn’t ask back again. She just stood up, brushed her skirt and straightened it, and walked upon the little devil. Bendy’s heartbeat started to thump ridiculously loud and fast. Why he felt so scared of her? She’s not like Joey, it’s not like she was about to punish him for his silence. But also Henry didn’t want to meet her, unsure of the people that used to be around him, like Joey himself! Why Bendy even started to think of her like him? Was she even a real menace, or was just the paranoid side of him that he built up among the years as a vagabond? She’s not Joey. _She was not Joey._

And then she finally got to stand right in front of Bendy, looming over him with her shadow surrounding him. Bendy just stared shakenly, waiting for anything that might come in his way. But against anything the demon expected, she just leaned back, taking seat in the coffee table’s edge, able to see Bendy eye level and just gave him a soft, reassuring smile.

“Bendy, sweetheart, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I know I pushed you a little too hard, but if there’s a sensitive issue with him, it’s ok. I’m ok, I understand.” She said with such softness and tenderness that left the toon looking a little ashamed. How could he ever dared to think that she was somehow like Joey?

“Look, I only wanted to know because, whether he was made during Henry’s time or not, he’s still a toon that deserved be away from Joey. After all, that’s what _Henry_ always wanted, for you to be free. I might not know what happened with him, but it doesn’t matter ‘cos you’re all here now, just how _Henry_ wanted.” Every time that she named her ‘late husband’, the group of toons couldn’t do more than twitch a little, like a sting pricking them. This was turning so awkward... not like Linda noticed, anyways.

“And about the house, guys, you don’t have to worry. I’m not selling it now that I know it always was about you. _Henry_ built it up so you all could live peacefully here. And I don’t know how you managed to get right here, but I’d like to think that _Henry_ guided you somehow your way here...” And she kept with that... “Maybe _he’s no longer with us_ , and maybe it has been more than 30 years, but as I’m concerned, this house is yours. _Henry_ would have wanted this way; _this is what he wished after all._ ”

 _Henry, Henry, Henry._ Every mention of that name only made the toons to twitch more and more. They quite could feel like pebbles thrown at them. Oh, geez, why it was so difficult? They knew the truth, she didn’t. They felt like she _needed_ to know, but Henry just walked away. How could they even know if he wanted to make her know? But she had to, she _deserved_ to know!

~~~~~~~~~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Personally, I'm one of those persons that flinches and shivers over disgusting noises like the knive over a plate, chewing and nose-whistling when they breath. So don't attempt to do those near me *-*  
> But what I tried to say with that, is that that's the way I imagine the toons flinching over Henry's name. Just that. So to be random~  
> Thanks for reading! I hope you're enjoying the trip!!!  
> ♥♥♥


	8. Who tells the truth?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lies are so nice; they allow you to live in your happy little world as long as you want to believe them. But it's better than face the heartrending truth...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I know, I delayed once again. But talking about the real life truths... well, it's complicated, as real life is and always'll be~!!!  
> But this chapter, not gonna lie, is one of my favourites, because I love ruin people's life and watch from a high place, sitting in my chair and eating popcorn (as long as it's just a momentary annoyance and not really see them down the hill. I'm not that evil).  
> Ok, enjoy!!! (Or not. It's up to you~)

“SORRY! I, ah... I’m sorry, I can’t– I...” Alice shouted as she stood up, nearly shoving Bendy off the armrest where he was seated from her abrupt movement. She was so nervous and simply couldn’t feel like containing it anymore. “I’m sorry, I need to go...” She said at last, leaving the room to head right to the kitchen.

Linda also stood up, trying to reach for her, but she didn’t. They three stayed silent, looking towards where the angel left, and soon they started to hear some chatting inside there. Alice was talking with the tiny demon, but their voices were too low to be able to recognize what they were talking about.

“What d’ya think they’re talkin’ ‘bout?” Whispered the wolf right next to the demon.

“I can’t tell...” The most he could get to hear was the higher voice pitch of the angel.

“Ya think they’re talkin’ ‘bout tellin’ ‘er?”

“I... dunno... it’d be easier if she were talking to Buddy”

“Excuse me, but if you’re gonna tell me something I’d prefer you’re not muttering it on my backs. And what with that of ‘Buddy talking’? She went to talk with him, didn’t she?” She pointed out to the toons, which stayed still before the sharp hearing of the elder woman.

“I, uh... she did! Just–” Bendy started to stutter; he nearly spilled it out!

“Is there anything wrong with Buddy?”

“No! I mean, it’s ok, everything’s all right with them– _Him_!  All’s right with ‘im!” _Why he kept doing that_?

“Bendy.”

His attention drew to where the angel’s voice came. She was now standing in front of the kitchen’s threshold, and a nervous tiny shape was standing right behind her. Bendy got to the floor in a hop and then he rushed his way to see if his little friend was ok. But in midways, the tiny demon just cowered even more behind Alice, nearly hiding once again back in the kitchen.

Bendy just stood there, glancing between the two shapes.

“It’s ok, Bendy... You can tell her...” Finally said Alice with a weak attempt of a smile.

“What, I? No– I can’t! I, ah...” Bendy found himself startled; how was _he_ going to tell the whole story? He glanced around, like begging for help, but when he spotted where the wolf was sat, he found out that Boris was already shielding himself behind the armchair, in total denial for being him the one who’s going to tell her. “Aw, Boris! C’mon!”

Bendy kept glancing around. He returned his look to Alice, who still was stood with a glimpse of despair in all of her face. Then he turned to the elder lady, who was still standing next to the coffee table, waiting for someone, _anyone_ to take the lead and start with all this to unveil.

“I think ye’d better take seat...” Invited Bendy, showing her the armchair where he was sitting a few moments before.

As she accepted his invitation, Linda walked upon the seat shown and took her place in it. Bendy was about to move as well when he noticed Alice also moving her way to the other armchair, sitting right in front of Boris, who kept his place behind the couch, not quite hiding anymore.

As they were taking place, the imp gave a last look to the smaller figure who now retreated to his place behind the doorframe, leaning his back against it, and still fiddling nervously with his tail in his mitten-like hands. Bendy couldn’t dare to approach any close to him, and with a resigned sigh, he went and took seat again in the armrest next to Alice.

Now that they all were in position, Alice was the one who started to talk.

“What we told you about Buddy, was only _his_ story...” Even knowing the course this new conversation was about to take, Alice felt pretty unsure about the words she should pick. Before continuing, she lowered her look, and Bendy reached for her hand, squeezing it a little, as well as Boris did with her shoulder, as a supporting gesture.

“Buddy appeared for the first time _right after_ Henry disappeared... he wasn’t then half the mess Bendy said he was when he found him, but we never realized who he was until _after_ Bendy showed him to us...” Alice held the hand over her shoulder, lifting her stare to meet Boris’.

“Ok... but you already told me that!” Linda said a little confused. “Then what’s the new part?”

“Mrs. Linda...” This time was Boris the one continuing with the tale. “Joey did... he did som’thin’ horrible, and we didn’t notice ‘til Bendy fig’red it all out... We never knew before! He’s...” But he trailed off, unable to make pass the lump that was forming in his throat.

Bendy twisted a little his waist so he could reach for Boris hand too. And now he breathed deep, preparing himself to what he was about to say as he clenched his sight as a way to keep his strength with him.

Linda still felt confused, but a tingling feeling in the back of her head made her think that, whatever the toons are into, she was not going to like it.

“Mrs. Linda... Buddy... _Buddy is Henry_... The day he tried to take Boris an’ Alice with ‘im, Joey’d something to ‘im, and turned ‘im in Buddy... I don’t know what it w _as, but somehow he -ot to -us- ‘im -it- -e -oul o- th-..._ ”

But Linda was hardly listening to whatever the devil toon was saying, because she simply couldn’t match what they were saying. She stared blankly to them, able to see them moving their mouths, trying to explain something that had no way to be understandable, but a ringing inside her ears was deafening all around her, only leaving way to a static swirl of thoughts that couldn’t find their coherent way out of her understanding.

“WHAT KIND OF SICKENING JOKE IS THAT?!” Linda shouted, raising from her seat and evidently pissed off for that nonsense the toons were trying to make her believe.

“What? No!” Bendy tried to talk, to convince her that it’s the truth. “Mrs. Linda, I swear it’s the truth! Henry was–”

“No, I don’t know what kind of toonish prank you’re trying to put me on...” Linda cut his words, exasperated.  “...but _that thing_ _can’t_ be MY Henry. He’s _DEAD_! He disappeared, presumably dead, and all because Joey–...!”

_Joey did something..._ Joey did something the very same day he disappeared... _Joey did THIS_ to Henry, to _her_ Henry... Henry is...

“ _Oh, my God_...!” She released on a thread of voice that pretended to be a chocked cry.

She put her hand on her mouth, clenching it tightly and hurting around it. She wanted to leave, she _needed_ to leave! Trying to walk away, she stumbled with the coffee table in front of her, flipping off it the glasses over it and even cracking one.

“Sorry! Sorry...” She apologized, but didn’t stop.

She grabbed her belongings, ready to head her way to the front door, but she stopped. Right in front her sight was the tiny demon cartoon, still standing next to the kitchen’s threshold, but now looking at her, with eyes wide opened and a hint of anguish in his stare.

What else could she expect? To him to talk? To explain himself? But he didn’t say anything at her, only lowered his stare.

Linda clenched her whole face, shaking anything that might have been on her mind, and with nothing more than tears that she couldn’t contain, she crossed the main gate and slammed the door behind her.

She desperately walked to her car, throwing her belongings on the passenger seat and nervously starting the engine. She wanted to leave so badly, that she just stomped to bottom the pedal, oblivious of anything around her.

“ _LINDA! WATCH OUT!_ ”

_Watch out? Why...?_

But anything that she could even have tried to process with that shout was abruptly cut off from the honking noises approaching from her left.

She crossed an intersection with a stop sign. She didn’t stop.

A pick-up truck was coming from her left, and even when she tried to brake in midways of the crossroad, that pick-up got to hit her car in the front corner, breaking the left headlight and making her spin a little to the right. The pick-up truck didn’t stop and just rushed his way out of there.

Linda stayed frozen in her seat, taking great gasps of air as she tried to regain the control over herself. Someone called out for her, and all she could recall was a childlike voice. She tried to peek over where she thought that voice came, and there she got to see, the little toon named Buddy –or was it her Henry?–, staring her through a window from her house, clearly astonished and about to burst in tears as well as dripping some lines of ink over his face.

In that distance, they both locked their looks, expecting for one or the other to do something, anything. But Linda couldn’t hold his stare, and with the last of strength that was left on her, she drove her car to get parked aside the street and finally let herself to cry out the whole grief she was containing.

~~~~~~~~~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jijiji... This is not gonna end well, will it?  
> Meh, it's long enough to still se what will happen, so expect whatever you want!  
> Thank you all for your support!!!  
> ♥♥♥


	9. You need to talk.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Since when shut on yourself has ever solved your problems?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'know what? I'll say it all at the end. Now, Go and enjoy this little part!  
> Also.  
> A Bunny!!!  
> ( \\_/ )  
> ( ' x ' )  
> c(")_(")

The hours kept passing as the day turned into night. Linda still was parked aside the street where she crashed with her car’s engine off and with no clue of leaving soon.

Inside the house, the living toons couldn’t do more than keep with their daily routine, but their minds were totally out and off after the raw talk they just had a few hours back. As dinner time came, only Bendy, Alice and Boris were ready to do so, but whoever was controlling the body of the tiniest of them all didn’t appeared since the car incident, locking himself in his room, unwilling to see anyone.

“All right, that’s enough!” Bendy broke in the dark room. “Henry, I know ye’re feeling pretty bad with all o’ this mess, but you need to get out.”

“ _Henry’s not here!_ ” Was all the answer Bendy got from underneath the blankets.

“Oh, so he isn’t, uh?” Bendy said while he approached to take seat in the bed’s edge to pull a little the blankets and then saw the tiny toon. “So then, Buddy, could ya _please_ tell ‘im to stop moppin’, to buck up and start to act like a man his age?”

“Hey! I might be a man nearly my sixties or sorta, but I still look like a childish toonie, so let me act like that for once!” He said as he pulled back the bedsheets over him. _So it was Henry all along..._

“C’mon, Henry...!” Bendy tried again to pull aside the blankets and now he had a totally curled Henry on the bed, facing his back to him. “Ye can’t stay hide in ‘ere fer much longer; it’s bad for ya! –For both o’ ya...”

Bendy had a point in that. Maybe he was the one upset, but he couldn’t drag Buddy into all of that moody state. At least Buddy had been pretty deferential with his state, but honestly they both needed to eat something. Henry started to considerate the idea of moving out of his room, at least until Bendy kept talking...

“...Besides, Linda’s still there in ‘er car. She hasn’t moved and I think ya’d probably–“

“Linda’s still there?!” And with a groan, he stumbled back to his fetal position on his bed.

“Ok. Now ye’re being ridiculous.” Bendy stated finally. And that’s when he thought of an ‘uncurling’ idea. “Henry? C’mon, ye can’t stay any longer like this if I try to poke over ‘ere~” Said the demon with a sing-song tone, just as he started to tickle around the minuscule body of his friend, forcing him to move over himself with suffocating spasm of laughs.

“No! Bendy, stop!” Pleaded Henry, starting to cry over the painful laughs.  “I’m serious! _Stop it_!” He said frowned, finally reaching his gloved hands to impeding him continuing.

“Well, ya wanted to act like a kid, so I’ll treat you like a kid.” He mocked, containing his giggles over the annoyed frown of Henry.

And he couldn’t tell what was more annoying: if the cheap trick Bendy used on him, or the fact that his companion, Buddy, actually enjoyed the tickles and couldn’t stop snickering from behind his mind. But those thoughts were left behind of the idea of his wife that was still parked around the corner of their house.

“And what do you want me to do?” Henry said dryly, as he stared to the reassuring smile that Bendy was trying to give him.

“Go an’ talk to ‘er.”

“About what? You already told her enough.”

“Yeah, I think not. Al an’ Bor barely could tell ‘er som’thing of yer beginnings, and I only came on in the end. She’ll need to know ‘bout the middles of yer story.” He declared, looking the low stare his little old friend was holding on the floor, maybe thinking about what that could imply. “...She ‘lready told us all ‘bout ya that we didn’t know; I think she deserve now yer story.”

Henry kept landing his stare to the floor, glancing from time to time to the demon next to him. He really was thinking of what he _could_ even tell her, but Bendy was right.

“Since when you became that mature?” He said with a sad but honest smirk popping from his face.

“Meh... 30 years alone in the streets... pretty much time to spend thinking over the stuff on life.”

“Yeah... sorry for that...” Replied Henry with a little pit of guilt building into his stomach.

Both demons stayed quiet for a while, Bendy watching his friend to debate over himself –or maybe between themselves– as Henry kept giving him a few glances, like trying to decide what else he could do. Maintaining his stare at the floor, and with a clenched look over his inner debate, he finally released a sigh with all the air he didn’t know was holding.

“Ok, I think you’re right.” He said with a tired look.

“Are ye talking to me or Buddy?” Inquired Bendy with a snicker about to pop out, to what his little friend just showed an unamused stern gaze.

“I guess both... Both of you’re right.” Henry finally released; after all, Bendy’s question was pretty legit to ask.

He drew closer to his friend and leaned his head against the imp’s side, and Bendy held his arm around the tiny figure’s shoulders, giving him a tight side-hug. And after some more seconds like that, Henry hopped off the bed and headed to the door followed by Bendy.

“Thank you, Bendy.” He muttered from the room’s threshold, and to it Bendy laid his hand over his shoulder.

“Any time, pal.”

And so, Henry headed down to the stairs, hopping each step steadily until his final landing. Holding the scarf Bendy gave to them, he reached close to the front door, to be stopped by a pitchy voice.

“ _Henry, Wait!_ ” Buddy called him from back.

“What’s the matter now?” Henry didn’t even bother on keep their talk inside.

“ _It’s past dinner time..._ ”

...

“Are you really thinking on eating now?” Easily he could hear some giggles coming from behind him on the kitchen, making him glare unamused.

“ _...No? I mean_ – _! She has been out the entire day... Maybe we could give her some food; probably she’s hungry too..._ ” Buddy said sheepishly, and Henry stared a moment to the kitchen with the idea on mind.

“I... think it’s a good idea, Buddy.” He finally said heading towards the kitchen to get a plate to go.

“ _And! What if we take some of those muffins Alice made?_ ”

“You suggest giving it to Linda or for us?”

“ _...Both?_ ”

For Henry –and every toon around– wasn’t weird the little one’s craving for sweet treats, and even though they all try to restrain him the most possible for his ‘sugar-rushes’, right now wasn’t something Henry wanted to discuss with him.

“Fine, but just ‘cos we haven’t eaten since breakfast.”

Mumbling his way and taking the food handed by Alice –the meal for Linda and a couple of muffins–, he made his way to the front door once again, helped by Boris to reach the handle.

Once out, he made his best to balance the plate and muffins in one hand while with the other he suited his scarf around his neckless shoulders.

Making sure no one is around, he made his way by the walkway to where the woman’s car was still parked. And as he approached, he could see from the distance and through the car’s window that indeed there was she, lying her head on the wheel with her hair covering her face side, and from how her torso was moving, taking deep and slow breaths as if she were sleeping.

Was she even crying? Henry had no way clear from where he was standing to determinate it, but anyhow, her appearance, her tiredness, her look from back when she almost –no, not almost; when she was _crashed_ after they told her his truth... All from that back only made his stomach squirm –and not by hunger. After clenching his eyes and shaking his head a little, he breathed in and out, and walked to her door.

~~~~~~~~~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, ok. Honestly, this was a little filler, but I had 2 main reasons to do this!  
> 1.- I can't skip to the main theme just like that with no bridge.  
> 2.- I needed to Buddy just were Buddy~ (Poor little guy, when was even his last interaction?)  
> 3.- (Ok, I said 2, but this one is also important) FOOD!!! YOU can't just lie in bed and not eat the whole day. Keep Yourself Healthy!!! (Yes. This goes for you, dear reader *-*)  
> Ok, thanks for passing by! Thanks for your support! Any comment and kudos will be well received~  
> ♥♥♥


	10. How we end up here.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maybe the pieces match, but they alone can't form the whole picture.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp. They _Had_ to start talking to each other after all that's gone. At least food always help to break the ice~  
> Enjoy!!!

Linda didn’t realized when she fell asleep until a hitting noise made her nearly jump out of her skin. Her cheeks felt irritated and her eyes still stung a tad, and was quite probably that her make-up was smeared down by her face.

She spent most of the day crying inside her car, unable to think of something clearly. The toons, what they told her, she crashing her car, the tiny toon’s voice... was that even her husband anymore? How could a man –a big, mature and surely taller man– be transformed into something so childlike, so stuttering, so not-human? What the heck did Joey do with him? All those years she convinced herself that _that man_ did something to her husband, but never thought that he could be so heartless to do such a thing –if even it was somehow possible!

Now she felt just like 30 years ago: with her heart shattered, trying to stupidly convince herself all of this was just a dream, that nothing was different from yesterday and soon everything would just snap out and show her that nothing happened; she didn’t meet the toons, they didn’t stroke her with his husband’s truth, and neither she crashed the car! She just fell asleep, and once her heart stopped bumping like a drum, everything would come back to her senses...

...If only weren’t for the broken left highlight, the fact that she still was parked next to the house her husband modified for their family and the toons, and the hitting noise that once again came from the passenger’s door, maybe it could have been easier to fool herself.

And what with the noise anyways?! It hit again and again... She tried to peer out the window of that side, but there was nothing that she could see. But after another couple of hits, a voice; a squeaky, childlike but soft toned voice appeared from that side, but unable to spot it by her eyesight.

“... _Sorry, I can’t reach the handle... Would you open it for me, please_?” Albeit the childish tone it –he –Henry? – held, she couldn’t but notice how defeated it sounded.

She didn’t think twice –even as she wanted it somehow late– and leaned to her side to reach the indoor handle and opened the door to the little one. The first thing she got to see was a plate with some kind of food and two muffins topping it by the seat’s level. The plate was shoved over the seat by a tiny mitten-like hand, and then the childish voice spoke up once again.

“Bu– Buddy thought that you might be hungry... Alice made up the dinner, and the muffins too. She’s got really good at cooking and stuffs, even for being a toon, ya know..."

Linda only stayed still, pretty much shocked with the sight of the little demon that stood next to her car. This one clearly hadn’t the rampant personality that the Little Devil Darling himself had, but how in the world this one could ever be Henry? – _Her_ Henry...?

“Mind if I join you...?” The tiny imp asked bashfully. Still couldn’t dare to make eye-contact with her as he gripped to the scarf around his shoulders.

He didn’t hear an answer, so with a furrowed glance he saw Linda only gave him a soft bow, picking up the food plate, allowing him to get in the passenger seat. Henry thanked in a whisper and climbed up to the spot. When he got to sit there, Linda slowly reached to return his plate, but Henry quickly, very much nervous, rejected her waving his hands up.

“No, it’s yours! It’s... is for you to eat something. And a muffin as dessert! Hehe...” He said finally, reaching for only one of the pastries that he brought.

He nervously waved the muffin, trying to show it to her playfully, but his grin was strained and his look still glanced around as expecting some kind of response from her, but she just stared at him with that blank, shocked expression.  _Why he had to make everything more awkward than already is_?!

Linda was still unsure; after all that she’d heard about him she couldn’t even recognize with who she was sitting next to. But whoever this one was obviously was too afflicted for doing something in regards of her. She peeked over the plate full of food, noticing it was just spaghetti with butter on top. It actually looked pretty tasteful, but...

“And the utensils?”

That was the first thing he heard from the woman next to him since the morning and it had to be a detail about a fault of his. Henry’s grin twitched; yes, was a ‘detail’, but she couldn’t eat –at least decently– without utensils. He started to stutter, trying to find something to say, to excuse himself. He started to scorn over himself, and even was about to leave in order to get some cutlery from the house. But a delicate hand over his shoulder stopped him.

Linda was. Linda dared to touch him, hold him back, and didn’t flinch in disgust by the feeling of his inky skin, like he thought she would.

And how could she? That nervousness, the way he recriminate himself, how he was trying to fix these thing he should have thought from the beginning; it’s not easy to forget so many unstamped or wrong addressed mails, burnt breakfasts, lost pens that ended up being in his pocket or behind his ear... the wallet in the car seat... every time that Henry tried to be thoughtful with her and he just ended up forgetting a ‘little-too-important detail’.

She smiled at him. Genuinely smiled at him! She’s not scared of him; she’s not disgusted of him! –At least not like the look she gave to him when she stomped out of the house. She gave him a reassuring smile, one that he should’ve known among the years, and she reached over the glove compartment, taking from there some plastic cutlery. Times of eating by some drive thru made her aware of the need of carrying some around.

They stayed there, eating together inside the car. The silence still was a little awkward but not enough to make them feel uncomfortable. Henry ate his muffin as slow as possible, regardless of his alter-ego rush and sweet tooth; and Linda took her time to taste Alice’s cook, which actually was really good.

She felt grateful for the dinner, indeed was a little hungry after all that she’d been through the day. But she couldn’t stop wondering how. The toons talked about two different entities in this little demon toon: one that they called Buddy, and another they referred as her husband. But how could that even be possible?

She stared at the little one from the corner of her eye, unsure if she could even call him as her once beloved husband. Yes, she saw, there were glimpses of his personality that she could call and recall, but that didn’t necessarily make it possible the sole idea of his husband turned into a toon...

 “Can I... ask you something?” Dubiously she started to talk, putting aside the now empty plate. Her head was cocked down and her brows knitted in a nervous frown. Henry noted her look and, as nervous as she must had been, he nodded to her. “...How?”

That question didn’t really need another word, as he bashfully turned down his stare, perfectly getting what she meant.

“I... honestly don’t know...” Henry started to response, much for the delusion of the lady next to him with that first answer. “I don’t know how, but Joey got to erase nearly every memory from my mind, if I still held a mind back then... I was totally knocked off, and by the time I came to, Buddy was already there, sharing a space that I didn’t know two could fit into...” He trailed off, lost in those terrifying memories of his first days back.

Linda couldn’t frown deeper even if she wanted, as concerned anguish started to stiff her whole features.

“So this ‘Buddy’... somehow he stole your body, your identity?”

“What? No!” He raised his voice. Linda didn’t thought he could sound so squeaky. “He only appeared thanks to Joey’s ritual to turn me –or him, anyways– in a new Bendy. But also was... was the only one to be there for me in this whole time... Neither of us really knew what happened or even who we were; we only knew what we weren’t. But he was there for me and I was there for him, helping each other to cope with all that Joey threw to us...” He couldn’t help but started to rub nervously back his head.

“He helped me to figure out who I was, stood for me whenever I felt lost... For thirty years, he was the only one I held to feel this wasn’t just a nightmare... I owe him a lot, for staying there, for letting me live through his body... I can’t blame him for anything; he was just another victim of Joey’s schemes...”

With every piece of memory that he shared with her, Linda’s features began to soften. The way he referred to his other self, their companionship, their support; she couldn’t doubt the word full of honesty and gratitude. That’s the way her husband always talked when was about his beloved toons, and this Buddy was not an exception. And that was enough to pull a compassionate smile through her lips with a tender look in her eyes.

But...

“If Joey turned your body in an ink-made toon like the others, why would he have needed another... another mind or soul or whatever to fit in your new body? He already screwed up your mind enough for what you told me, so why not only kept you?”

“Honestly I hardly think that he knew about the two of us. He just wanted a new Bendy. From what I’ve got to know, he tried to group Bendy’s personality from the show. If he tried to put that on my mind or really wanted to make a new one, it’s really something that can’t figure out. But with Joey those days, who could?” Henry scorned a little at the end his statement, narrowing his stare as Linda looked down to him with sadness starting to crawl by her chest. “For the best or the worst, we ended up together. And with my mind so screwed and hazy, not being alone was all that mattered for thirty years...”

~~~~~~~~~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wary, wary. Linda's wary. Wouldn't you?  
> At least there's something that helps this situation, and it's that she _knows_ about the magic/rituals/procedures taken to bring the toons to life. That might seems pretty obvious at this point, but just think about it: what if all that creepy magic was something totally alien to her understanding?  
> Thanks for keeping up with this!!! Kudos and comments are always welcome!!  
> ♥♥♥


	11. The real you.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pure instinc is what usually moves a mindless creature.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What can I say? Writing angst really cheers me up~! (And I really needed to do so while closing the school year back in december. Those dates are awful, y'know?)  
> So what does that mean? That I'm gonna go a write something pretty angsty 'cos has been some pretty shitty the last days. So be prepared~  
> Anyway.  
> Enjoy!!!

~~~~

Linda felt like her heart was sinking tied on an anvil. With every word, each stare, breathe and sigh of his, it was getting harder to deny the true identity of the one next to her. Her husband always was like that whenever the weight of the situation surpassed him, and it was a common scene to witness right before everything in the studio started to crumble apart.

She couldn’t keep telling herself what the toons said were a bunch of made-up tales to justify his absence –for not to straightly say bullcrap. That horrible man, the one that used a façade of ‘best friend’ with her beloved husband, indeed did something to him, making everyone believe that Henry left by his own, abandoning his dreamlife-job, his growing home and beloved ones just because of reasons, and finally erasing the man from the Earth’s surface. And now she couldn’t help but let a cold dread crawl by her spine and throat. That man, Joey Drew, not only got rid of his ‘friend’ and her husband, but also turned him in a mockery of the one they both– no, not both, _Henry_ only, created, loved and nurtured along the years. He did it to replace the one that ran away thanks to his constant abuse and mistreats, only to keep abusing and mistreating the ‘new’ one –the one that used to be his friend, nonetheless!–, and probably even worse since he was the only one who knew who this little one really was.

The weight of these ideas, of the swirl of thoughts that started to match with the loosen pieces she held with the years of mourn and grief, all that started to hit her with all its strength. Henry was there. _Her husband was there_! And had been trapped in that dreadful place with who knows which monstrosities for 30 years! 30 years lost; 30 years in oblivion, 30 years of loneliness...

The tears didn’t hold back any longer. Her heart was chocking at her throat as deep and sharp gasps started to spasm in her chest as bereaved sobs. Joey... _Joey took away her husband_! Joey just crushed him and reshaped him like if he was only a lump of clay that could throw at the trash bin whenever he wanted. Joey tore apart their lives, and so he did it with the lives of _everyone_ reported missing from the studio! Why that hideous man still had to torment her even after all that time...?

Now she felt lost, impotent, rage spreading by her veins, but mostly felt sorrow. She has her husband back, and yet he was only a shadow of a toon that he never should have been.

Her crying started to gain audible space as her mourning desperately tried to break out of her chest. Henry stared at her; it was worse than back at the living room. But now there was no reason to restrain himself. She was sad, suffering. He _had_ to do something for her. Not as the tiny toon she though he was, but as Henry, her husband, the one that supposed to be with her for life... and who he left alone for thirty years...

Out of reflex or maybe from a hunch, he stood up trying to be eye level with her. A hand in her shoulder and another coping her chin. He gently pulled her face so he could see her clearly. And with a comforting hum, he wiped some of her tears and pulled back some strings of hair covering her face.

“Linda... Linda, please. I’m here. I’m here now. You don’t need to keep struggling with all of this. I’m here. Anything that happened it’s already over. It’s over and I’m here with you now.”

She tried but couldn’t contain her tears enough, and with no fore call, she launched her arms around the small silhouette to tighten them in a bereaved hug. Henry was caught off-guard, but anyways he did his best to engulf his owns –his tiny noddle-like own arms– around her as well, resting his chin in her shoulder and trying his best to comfort her.

His arms were thin and short. His body was so small that she ended reaching her own body with her hands. His skin was colder. He didn’t even have fingers to caress and brush her strings of hair. And his voice, high pitch squeaky like a 5 year-old child. Every part of that body, the eyes, the hands, the height; everything was shaped in ways that no one could ever tell that the person, the man there was Henry – _her_ Henry! And yet, the way his arms tried to reach around her, his body trying to be close to her, the protective way his hands curled in her back, and the words filled with reassurance and tenderness. This was her Henry. He’s always been her Henry.

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! Henry, please. Forgive me!”

Henry couldn’t help but jerk a little. She called him by his name... She hadn’t done it since she was talking _about_ him. But now she made her way to get that he always had been Henry. She really was making an effort to understand, and he could feel how every piece of him close to her started to stiff and shake. She really recognized him, and he wouldn’t let that bit of hope to drift apart from his hold.

“Please, forgive me, Henry. Maybe if I had gone inside the day you didn’t make it out, maybe– maybe nothing of this would have happened. I should’ve been with you, you shouldn’t have gone alone!!”

“What? Linda, no way! Just think about all the things Joey did in the end! If you had gone inside too, who knows, maybe you’d ended up like any of the ones lost in there.”

“But if I had known, I could have done more!”

“Linda, you did enough and even more. If my mind weren’t so messed up and I knew you were trapped inside as well... I wouldn’t be able to live knowing that you were one of the lost souls inside that hell...” His thoughts full of remorse trailed off. Despite the distressed cry from the woman in his arms, he always kept his tone as even as possible. She had lived with all that grief that only grew with guilt over the fate of the man holding her pain for over thirty years and that didn’t make it any easier for her than his time trapped there made for him. He couldn’t bear the idea of her risking her own safety in regards of him; not now, not ever, mind screwed or not.

“Anyhow _I_ should be the one begging for your apologize. I should have made my way out as clean as you said. I should’ve listened to you in first place. And even now that we made our way out of there, I... should’ve known that I had nothing to fear about you. It’s just, I don’t know, my mind’s still fuzzy about my own past; my memories are still blank in a lot of spots that I can’t recall yet and I couldn’t tell who I could trust anymore. Joey proved to be blasted enough to make us feel scared and wary about anyone. I shouldn’t have put you in the same bag, I should’ve known better...”

Despite his soft voice, despite his attempts to keep it comforting and only trying to give her reassurance, now he was the one starting to crumble on her arms, with lumps in his inexistent throat menacing to turn into a distressing sob, which tears already made their course down by his face and to the woman’s shoulder and back.

~~~~~~~~~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooo!!! We're approaching to a dangerous zone!!! (No, really. We're close to a chapter that I'm pretty afraid to post. It's not the next, but we're close...)  
> By the way, was it notorious? The fact that in the previous chapter Linda hadn't named Henry by his name? No? D:  
> Anyways, I really hope you're still enjoying this!  
> Thank you all for keeping up with this rollercoaster!! The next chapter's gonna be a little more cheerful (at least until we reach the break-point~)  
> Comments, Kudos, Anything you wanna leave will be highly well received and appreciated!!!  
> ♥♥♥


	12. Just a call back.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bits of hope; sparkles of laugher. Both can enlighten the dark abyss. But their light may be too dim.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We all need a little relief when thing gets a little rough. So be nice with those that try to take out a laugh in the "worse times". After all, it's just a cope mechanism~ whether you like it or not.  
> Enjoy!!!

She couldn’t bear the idea of seeing him so distressed. She never did before and being him a toon doesn’t change that. This is supposed to be her husband, a man that choose as career fill the lives of people with joy and awe through his art and passion. He should have been a man full of happiness and delight, not a man living with the burden of not being good enough to accomplish his goals; a feeling that Joey assured to feed every chance he had, and one that Linda always managed to put aside somehow.

“At least...” She started to say, pulling back a little her tears. “At least you could have tried and give me a call...”

“...what?”

That statement. That sole statement was enough for him to cease his tears. Henry broke his hold to now be able to stare at her, face to face. She still kept shedding some tears and her sobs still made her jump a little from the spasms in her chest. But that commentary she made was enough to fix his gaze with a baffled expression.

“What do you mean with that...?”

“I’m just saying... you could have picked up the phone and give me a call at least. The phone in the kitchen is still working, so you could!”

A few seconds passed in complete silence as Henry tried to gauge what she meant with her words, but with no luck.

“Are you serious?! I mean, I just told ya! My mind is still fuzzy and I barely can remember a few things. I only started to realize who I was _after_ we escaped the studio and you come to say that I could have called you? How could I ever have got to know about a phone number of a place I don’t even know to call someone I’m just starting to– wait a minute...” Henry stopped his rant to turn and sternly look at the woman sitting next to him, who between trails of old tears and puffy eyes, couldn’t really contain the snickers held behind a tight smirk. “...This is one of your jokes, ain’t it?”

If there were still any doubt to sow about the identity of the little toon next to her, the way he reacted and recognized something so typical from her was all that she could have ever needed to leave no place for doubts.

Henry stumbled back on his seat, trying hard to not leave his emotions take place in the most toon-ish style, as Linda started to laugh so heartedly over one of the usual jokes she threw to her husband. Well, at least she was more cheerful despite the entire situation, but toon or not, why it had to be at his cost?

“Why you always do that?!” More than anger, he felt pretty embarrassed about him falling on those jokes of her, and obviously wasn’t the first time.

“What do you mean?” She played foolish about it.

“Just... _That_! Every time that the moment oughtta be serious, you come and throw a commentary that doesn’t even come to case!”

“Like when?” Now she started to tease a little with him, but after all, he was her Henry, and not for being a toon she was going to act different with him now that how she used to be.

“Like... like... The tale about the cat. You knew how I was worried over the whereabouts of Bendy and you came all like ‘This cat looks like Bendy, let’s keep it!’” From the story she told the toons earlier that day, it’s actually pretty accurate from what happened that day.

“I needed to cheer you up. And you know what they say about grumpy people having cats.”

“And there you go again!”

“Ok, ok. But that was just one time.” She huffed, with a smirk in her lips as bright as a winner’s smug.

“Only one? What about the car thing?” Another example from her story.

“Honestly, that _did_ come to case. Or what? Were you going to kill yourself driving ‘til dawn around the city?”

She might have had a point in that last one, but not like Henry was willing to give up his pride.

“What about the time I took that week of vacation?” The features on Linda’s face grew still as her gleeful smile slowly started to vanish, leaving space for a knitted brows and a strangeness look. “I killed my back the whole month earlier so Joey wouldn’t complain about a week absent to take you to Florida. But the next day we arrived, a storm hit and we had to spend that time locked in the hotel...”

“Henry?”

“...And what did you say? ‘You should have chosen another date’.”

“Henry...”

“How in Pete’s sake was I gonna know that a storm was gonna hit that week?!”

“Henry!”

His rant came to a halt. He turned his face to look at the woman that was calling him; she was no longer wearing that airy smirk. On the contrary, she now was staring at him with confused and concerned eyes. Something didn’t match...

“That story from our vacation... was from like 40 years ago...”

“...And what with that?” Something about her tone made him feel strangely uneasy.

“You said that your memory was mostly blank. How do you remember that?”

“I– I... did I...?” _He remembered a thing_. _He remembered a thing_. _He remembered a thing_. _He REMEMBERED a thing from his past_! The details, the date, the place, the feelings, the... frustration from that moment... He was able to remember something from a blank spot in his mind.

“I did! I– I remembered!” Holding his head, feeling the weight of what meant that single memory, he started to giggle in a strange mixture between nervous and joy. Giggles that stopped as confusion took place all over his features. “Why did I remember _that_?”

“You were in that mood.” She said shrugging a little with a sympathetic smile drawn in her lips. “Have... this ever happened before? The way your memory...”

A deep and thoughtful look crossed Henry’s face. Yes, he had remembered a few things here and there, but never as detailed as the one from now.

“Just... just a few times. But only enough to recall little things, like Bendy and the guys, being able to get to this house, who were you when you came in... Sometimes I can remember things that I used to do, but were things that I used to do on a regular basis, like drawing, crossword puzzles... Never before I was able to remember a specific situation with so many details...”

The envelope of her arms around his tiny frame caught him by surprise when he saw Linda leaned to reach him in a hug. It lasted only a few seconds before she straightened back, leaving a reassuring hand over his shoulder.

“It’s ok. That only means that your mind’s still working hard to get you back.” She said as Henry’s smile grew fond towards her. “It may take its time to entirely heal, but I’m more than happy to be with you –again!–, to help you and to be with you as long as it needs to repair.”

Her words slipped inside him with pure bliss. Linda wanted to be with him! His wife wanted to stay with him... This woman wanted to spend her time... with a toon... A toon that might have been once her husband, but now wasn’t even a shadow of his past self... He wasn’t even a _man_. He wasn’t even ‘ _he_ ’, but ‘ _they_ ’! It wasn’t even his body, but was Buddy’s, and he had only been deferential with Henry for this occasion due the circumstances. If she stayed, then what? Buddy would have to live hidden back only to let him be around Linda? No! He had lived hidden long enough to allow that to happen again. Buddy didn’t deserve that. _They_ didn’t deserve that.

Linda didn’t deserve that...

He held her hand resting in his shoulder to break its contact, as he scooted himself apart and away from her, leaning down his head as a remorseful feeling crept its way by Henry’s chest.

“...No...”

~~~~~~~~~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YES! Bad jokes and dad puns are brought to you by Linda's Treat!!! (At least here).  
> Don't argue with the system if it works~  
> But... this was just a little parenthesis, 'cos here next comes the angst again~!!!  
> Thank you all for keeping up with this!!! (Oh, man... I'm close to reach the last thing I got written and haven't finished!!)  
> Kudos, comments, food; anything is welcomed!!!  
> Besos y abrazos!!!  
> ♥♥♥


	13. Move on.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry is a stubborn man, even as a toon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry. I know I should've updated last tuesday, but honestly a lotta things happened this week.bad things.  
> BUT we're _not_ here to get depressed over real life misfortunes ~~(if you wanna get depressed over my real life, better check out twitter, that's where I usually vent all out)~~.  
> Nope. We'rehere to get depressed over the written angst developed by a imaginative mind finding its own catharsis!  
> Now, take seat and enjoy!!!

“What? Henry, what do you mean?”

The change of attitude from him just left her baffled. Just a minute ago they were laughing, smiling, relieved to find each other after so long years. And now he drew away from her, pretty much like when they were in the living room that morning.

“I said no, Linda. I can’t let you do it.”

“Do what? Be with you? Henry, _I want to_. Why you get like this? You have to understand–”

“No. _You_ have to understand _me_.” He cut her off. Maybe he was her husband, but it’s still somehow weird see such a little creature to stand so sternly and... defeated. “Linda, please. My life was over about 30 years ago. Even if I start to remember more things from my past, what’s the case? It’s not like I could start to walk around and greet everyone that I once knew. I’m... a toon now. _We_ are a toon, and only want to live safely somehow. There’s no case on trying to live from the past, or at least from my past. And that goes for you too... You can’t even tell me that in all these 30 years _I_ was the only thing that you kept in mind. _You should have moved on_!”

_You should have moved on_ ; that phrase echoed in her mind as now she could recall: that’s what he said back in the morning. She barely heard that back then, but now he was putting a lot of emphasis on that, and even though she couldn’t quite tell what he meant with that.

“You really should have. Live your life, grow a family, be with someone who cares about you; I don’t know. A job, a project, a hobby, whatever! But being worried about someone the police gave for dead by thirty years... Linda, I won’t let you stay. Thirty years are more than enough; I won’t let you waste more of your time in a lost case like me. You... you really should have moved on...”

The words spreading out of his mouth were cutting and dry. Yes, he was defeated, he was tired and was ready to just end this thing and turn away, but first he needed to make her get why _she_ should be the one on walk away and don’t look back. His life was over. Their life together was over, and if she decided to stay and be with him, he was sure she would be simply miserable. Make her go was just the only good deed that he could do by now for her, even if that meant shatter his own heart.

Not like she would take it as easy as he wanted.

“Since when be with you was a waste of time?” Linda argued back, feeling how tense her heart was getting.

“Since I stopped being me! C’mon, Linda. I’m not even ‘ _me_ ’, but ‘ _us_ ’. I live through Buddy; he’s the one that lets me be around to keep living –if even. And what’re you gonna do? Be around and ask Buddy every time you want to ‘see me’?”

“Henry, no. I’m not trying to–”

“Linda, no, please. I’m begging you! I... I still love you, I’m sure ‘bout that. But I just told you, my life’s already over... It’d be easier if you just keep thinking that Joey killed me or sorta. And I’m not letting you to waste your time in being around a toon to just wait if the little voice that lives behind his mind pops out some another day...”

By this point, the little silhouette in the passenger seat curled up entirely in himself, hugging his legs around tightly and burying his face inside the wrap as a way to contain his distress. He basically was shooing away the woman that cared for him the most in his life. He didn’t want to. He wanted to be with her actually, clinging from her hold and feel that he’d never have something to be afraid of ever again. He wanted to feel her heart beating, the warm of her skin, the sweetness of her perfume; he wanted _everything_ from her...! but he can’t. He can’t have her anymore, he lost that right the day he was turned into... this... She didn’t deserve him; that’d only made them both –even them three!– suffer over what wasn’t anymore.

Henry started to tremble. All his body was shaking as soft sobs fought their way out. And Linda just stayed there, staring at him. She wanted to comfort him, to cope him on her arms and hold him until the pain were gone, but the moment she tried to reach a hand on him, he rejected her, waving out his own mitten-like hands as a barrier to leave him alone.

Why was he being like that? _He was her husband_! She was the one that swore before the priest under God’s gaze to be with him for better or worse, and this certainly was for worse. Why so much matter with those 30 years? She was there, she still loved him and he needed her. She had to comfort him just like those so many times that she was the one distressed and he was the only one that could comfort her. _But not like he could do it as he used, did he_?

No. He still needed her. Man or toon, that didn’t matter. _He needed her_ , and there was no force in universe that would stop her in that very moment, not even her husband’s reject.

She approached her hand once more, reaching for his head this time. He shrugged and sank even deeper into his legs, but she didn’t flinch. She kept it there, patting gently between those hair strokes, down by his downside horns and so until reached his back, rubbing her hand in circular pattern as she tried to help him release his distress. She would stay there as long as it was needed. They could keep talking when he could pull himself together.

Several minutes passed until the sobs started to grow lesser. Linda never took back her hand, and Henry started to peek out of his shelter with inky-glossy teary eyes. It seemed that he calmed himself enough to be able to look at her again, even if it was from the corner of his eyes.

And she was sure what would come next, since that’s all he had been saying the last past minutes. It didn’t matter. Somehow she understood Henry’s position, and maybe he was right about the meaningless of ‘bringing his mind back’. But that didn’t mean that he couldn’t have back the precious moments, the times since they started their shared-life project.

As she’d seen so far there were 3 prime memories on Henry’s mind: of the toons, about her, and of Joey. And she couldn’t count herself that much since it was from that very day. But if every other piece of mind remaining in him was going to be darkened under Joey’s layer, then there was meaning on bring his mind back, as a way to remind him that life was not only about fear and pain.

 “You feeling better, honey?” She asked with a soft, even voice, but had no response. “Come one, Henry dear. Don’t act like that with me!” She requested, as calm as before, but she hadn’t any answer either. “At least could you look at me?”

As simple as the petition sounded, it really took a big amount of will force to not avoid her gaze. He wasn’t mad at her, not at all. He really felt ashamed over the childish whimper and mopping that just made before her. As stubborn as he always had been, he felt like a fine amount of pride just went down by the drain. Him being her husband, _he_ should be the strong one, the one that could hold himself together and not crumble over his emotional state. He should be the strong one for her. But how could he, if all that he had been doing lately was trying to shoo her away of his life? He knew it would tear him apart, but never thought it would be that painful. But he had no more choice...

He managed to lock his stare with hers, and despite the cruel words, despite having rejected her and have told her that all she was trying now was a useless waste of time and resources, she still looked at him, with such full-love and concerned eyes as no one could ever look at him. Only she. And that just made his heart to shatter even more.

“...please, don’t do this to me...” He pleaded, as if she was the one that were breaking his heart, even when he clearly knew she wasn’t.

“Then what do you want me to do?” As calm as she’d been trying to be, there was no way to doubt that desperation was starting to take place on her chest.

“I already told you: to move on!” He claimed, moving his head abruptly to no longer stare at those devout eyes, as tears started to trail down his cheeks once again. “It was enough for you to spend 30 years mourning over me. You... need to move on, _live your own life_! I haven’t been part of your life since the day I was gone, so why try to ‘bring me back’ as if nothing happened?” He made a pause to wipe some of his tears. “Just... move on and try to be happy with your life. You don’t deserve to keep mourning over me...”

Just like she already knew, he wasn’t stopping with his speech. But why would ‘move on with her life’ even mean ‘forget about him’? Yes. For over thirty years she had been the distressed widow since the beginning of that time, with her husband being declared ‘ _dead in absentia_ ’ by the police and leaving no more attempts in trying to find at least his remains. She had to assume that he was gone and she would never know what happened to him. And it’s true, that’s how she lived these past thirty years. But not like pain had filled all the space she had in her life.

~~~~~~~~~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here is it. Next chapter, the one I'm a little scared just because I don't want to make it feel it wrong. Recalling that this AU has already some canon stories made by Star-Going-Supernova, and I don't want to be disrespectful with her own work nor with her "delicate issue" ~~(If you go and check her fic Before And After, you might get and idea of what I'm talking about. But also, could be a little spoiler for this one, so go under your own risk)~~.  
> Thank you! Thank you all for keeping up and overall for your patience over this last delay! I know that I'm updating quickier than the average, but it's about a compromise I did over the update shedule that I know you know and you expect so my apologies to you and Thank you again!!!  
> ♥♥♥


	14. Life went on.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time stills goes by despite if you've been stuck for ages.  
> ...That's what Henry would have thought...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I know it has been QUITE a lot time. I sayd "let's post every 2 days" and here we are... after 2 and a half months...  
> ANYWAyS, although this chapter I'd left done since then, I already said that this is quite sensitive, since I don't really have this kind of experiences and I don't want to really make it look like a bad representation... But here we are! So...  
> ...  
> I hope you enjoy this...

“What... does it make you think... that I haven’t moved on with my life?” She asked, picking carefully the words she chose. Not like she gave up on his request, but he needed a lot of reassurance.

He faced her with wary eyes; he couldn’t tell if what she was saying was another of her jokes. But her eyes only showed as much concerning as tiredness, didn’t look like she were trying to trick him again.

“What else did you want me to believe, if it about me you were talking all the time?” Henry said, pretty much disdained.

“And what else did you want me to talk before the toons? First of all, I didn’t know you were already there. Secondly, they are _your toons_! You made a lot of promises to them and I didn’t want ‘em to believe that you left abandoning them ‘cos nobody ever had the chance to tell ‘em what happened to you. I didn’t want ‘em to believe that you’re some kind of traitor... But... now that I see that you’re already with them, it seems kinda ridiculous all that tale that I told them... they already knew what happened to you...” She said lastly with a slight of embarrassment. But at Henry’s sight, she didn’t have to be like that. She was right about what topics she could talk about, and honestly, that helped him too.

“No, it’s... ok. Not like I could tell them anything that happened or the things I did. I, ah... really appreciate it. Thank you...”

There was some silence as Henry tried to finish drying his last tears. And Linda was plenty sure that if they touched the topic once again, his mind wouldn’t change from where he was standing.

“Besides... I did. I did move on. It took me lotta time, years actually, and a ton of help. But I was able... to raise our family.” She said, beaming a tad at the mention of them. And Henry just stared at her with wide open eyes. “They were my everything, helping me thru those dark years and they supported me with every situation. I couldn’t be more proud of them...”

As Henry heard her he couldn’t feel his heart more clenched. Huh, a family... she _did_ move on after all. He was clear that it was all that he asked her for, but knowing that indeed she... left him behind... still hurt... But it didn’t matter, if they had made her happy those years.

“I’m... glad that you got to find someone that made you happy...” He said, unable to hide the sadness on his words. But more than any other answer, she only gave him a confused look.

“What do you mean with that?”

“Well, you said you could raise a family. How else could you if you didn’t get married again?” He tried to point the obvious, but Linda wasn’t precisely on tune with him.

“Henry, I didn’t get married again. You were the only one! I was talking about _our_ family, _yours and mine_. _The children we had together_!”

The clarification blew his stare towards her as he felt only a thread of air was able to pass by his non-existent throat.

“I– I... had kids...” He started to stutter. “Kids. I had... I– Kids, family... My kids– I had...–” He was unable to match his words with the static swirl of thoughts that began to overwhelm not only his piece of mind.

“...Henry? Henry, what’s _goin’ on_?” A voice called him. It was female and soft. From where did it come?

His black pie-cut eyes started to fade to white as he faintly but fearful began to feel how his heart was thumping faster, heavier, louder, and painfully.

“ _Oh, no. Henry? HENRY!_ ” A voice again. Did it come from outside? From his insides? He couldn’t recall. It was getting fainter and muffled.

Heat. It started to spread from his chest to his arms and legs like tiny needles and prickles making their way until the very end of his fingers and toes. He was scared; _it hurt too much_! He needed to clench his chest, hold his head, curl up in himself, _hide somewhere_!

“ _Henry, please, don’t. You need to snap out! Henry!_ ”

Air. He needed air! _He couldn’t breathe_! Every shot of air he took wasn’t enough. Short and fast gasps of air barely could fill the oxygen need his heart was demanding. But he couldn’t breathe better, his lungs were too big to fill, his throat too thin to let pass more air. He needed to keep breathing, _but he couldn’t_!

“ _Henry? Oh, my God, what’s happening?! Henry!_ ”

Something touched him! No, no... He was trapped, _suffocated_! Now his arms started to flail aggressively around him before his limbs started to shake– no, he wasn’t shaking but convulsing! He had no control of his own body. _No one had_!

“ _Henry! Do you hear me? Henry, snap out! HENRY!_ ”

He couldn’t. _He can’t_! He was hurting, lacking of air, his heart thumping painfully. Scared, panicked. Nothing around made sense. _Nothing inside made sense_! It all burnt, in and out. He couldn’t contain himself anymore...!

...He started to drip, to melt...

*-*-*-*-*

“Henry? Oh, my God, what’s happening?! Henry!” Linda tried to call him, but the most he got was a garbled, static noise out of his mouth. Was he trying to say something? Trying to scream?

At first, Henry was just stammering, like he couldn’t piece the facts of his past that Linda threw at him. His stutter started to sound less like disconnected, haphazard words to be replaced by a static noise.

She tried to call him, to take him back to reality and out of that numbed mind state, but as soon she touched him, that static noise out of his mouth sounded like what meant to be a scream, a screech of pain and sheer panic. His arms flailed around with no pattern, but it soon turned to be a violent convulsion, unable to contain his movements.

“Henry? Henry! Henry, listen to me! Please, Henry. Henry!” She tried again, reaching to hold him from both his arms. But she broke contact at the mere touch, feeling sticky wet in her hands. “Oh, God... Henry!”

It was ink. _It was his ink_. Was he melting? The more he was shaking, the more ink was dripping and splattering around. He wasn’t anything but getting worse and worse as the seconds passed. _She needed to do something_!

She held the scarf he was wearing and wrapped him in it the best she could, scooping the spilled ink and trying to contain his haphazard movements.

As quickly as she could, she got out of her car, holding him tightly as more ink was dripping through the scarf envelop. She left her clacking shoes behind; she needed to run, even if only were a few yards.

“Bendy?! Bendy, open the door! Help, please!” She claimed as soon as she got in front of the house, smashing the door as she tried the best she could to hold tightly the little frame between her arm and her own body, despite his violent movement.

At the moment Bendy opened the door, clearly didn’t expected to find such scene. He was shocked with dread at the sight of the little one practically crumbling apart on her arms as she was splattered with his very own ink.

“I– I don’t k–know what happened. We– we were just talking! I mentioned him about our children and– and...” Her mind was running a mile a second as she tried to put in words something even she was unable to explain.

Bendy called in alarm to the other two toons and with hurry and carefully took the little frame on his arms to straight put him on the couch.

“Henry? Buddy? Anyone, can ye hear me?”

“Oh, my goodness. Boris, go and get some inkwells!”

“Doncha worry, pal. e–everything’s gonna be alright. Ya hear me?”

“I got some! Shall we wait to him stop tremble?”

The toons were quick on acting, certainly knowing how to treat and take care of one of them. Linda couldn’t do much than stare at them, unable to properly help as dread was looming all of her thoughts, starting to question what did she wrong?

A gentle pat took her out of her mind. Alice was, staring at her with concerning.

“Mrs. Linda... I think it’s better for you if you leave for tonight.” She politely requested, regardless the confused mind of the woman next to her.

“What? N– no! I can’t! What about Henry? What’s happening to him?!”

“Mrs. Linda, please. He’ll be fine, I promise. But it might take a time.”

“Then I’m staying. I need to know he’s alright!”

“I _promise_ he’ll be okay. But staying won’t help you either.” She tried to reassure her, but Linda only tried to peek over what they were doing with him. “You can call us whenever you want. I promise we’ll let you know how he is.”

“Can I... at least say goodbye?” She asked in a whisper with a thread of voice.

Alice nodded solemnly and the lady made her way to where the toon of her husband was lying. He stopped shaking, but his stare was still blank and ink was still dripping from his body. Bendy and Boris were handing him ink from bottles and trying to make him drink it. If that would help him, she wasn’t going to argue; he was a toon, after all...

She extended her hand to pat the little one, but as she did he flinched abruptly. She drew her arm back, gasping over his reaction with tears in her eyes menacing to roll down.

“Goodbye, Henry...” She released in a sigh.

With her heart chocking at her throat, she turned back, not-ready to leave, but neither able to do more. She said goodbye to the others, and after a comforting hug from Alice, she left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, excuses!  
> ...  
> Nothing really more than what I said in the previous chapter's notes.  
> But being honest, life has got a bit better the passing months, so better for me to come back and try to finish this at least. No schedule this time. I'll post as soon as I have the chapters made (It should take about 3 more only)
> 
> So that's all for now!
> 
> Love to you all~


	15. Stay a little.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Nice to finally meet you~"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With all honestity, this chapter was also already written since february, so... well... here you have! A little quite time was required in this house after the mad 3 days that took about 14 chapters, didn't it?  
> Well, here we go~  
> Enjoy!!

The night passed and so it made its way to a new day. The events from the previous day really left the group of toons trembled, but there was nothing more they could do. Buddy’s body was already stabilized; he slept, woke up and started to help around the house chores like any other day. But only had been him; Henry, in the other hand, was shut down to anything and everything, not even responding to Buddy’s pleas and attempts to chit-chat. He was locked up in himself, and Buddy honestly hated it; it reminded him his lonely days at the studio...

Thankfully, his current life was not anyhow like the one at the studio. He felt alone without Henry, yes; but at least now he knew he wasn’t really alone. And even more, he hadn’t had to fight for their life like they used to do. Yeah, he couldn’t stop thanking enough this new life and family; the safety, the caring, the feeling of belonging and self-identity –despite everything else.

Indeed, he was missing Henry really bad at this moment, but he knew better. This happened before. At least he was able to realize and didn’t succumb into the stress of his other like previously.

Henry was hurt, and will take his time to heal, to put his thoughts in order. Buddy knew it. He just had to give him his space for now.

Near the midday there was nothing to do as Alice was fixing the day’s meal, so Bendy tried to take a nap on the living room’s couch while Buddy was drawing in the coffee table next to him. That, until they heard a screeching sound of wheels braking right in front of their house. The sound of slammed doors followed as well as some clacking footsteps.

By when the clacking stopped, a knocking shook a little the front door. Bendy and Buddy glanced between the entrance and themselves, unsure of what to do next.

“ _Guys, it’s me, Linda_!” Sounded from the other side.

Bendy stood up cautiously and with no much hustle, making his way to peep through the door’s closest window’s corner. There he saw her, indeed, the woman from the previous day, who looked at him and gave him a nervous smile and a wave from her hand, confirming her identity. With no more to see, he got out of her sight to open the door and welcome the lady.

“Sorry. I needed to be sure.”

“It’s ok, I understand. By the way...” She made a pause, showing him a couple of bags she was carrying and giving it to him. “I brought some things; I thought it might be helpful for you, guys.”

Bendy reached for the bags noting it was full of groceries. It was usually hard for them trying to get some groceries, doing it when they were nearly out of everything.

“Wow, thank ya, ma’am! Ya shouldn’t ‘ave bothered really.”

“It’s not a problem, at all.” She smiled at her, but couldn’t quite hide the nervousness that was stiffing all her features. “...It’s... Can I talk to Henry? Is he ok?” She finally said, with words that almost tripped over themselves due the speed she spoke.

Bendy started to scratch his head’s back, glancing over his shoulder to where the tiny demon was doodling behind at the coffee table. Seeing that the little one stood up and fixed his now-cleaned scarf, he stepped aside so he could come closer.

“I– I’m, ah... sorry, Mrs. Linda...” Buddy approached to her, sheepishly. “Henry... I haven’t heard him since yesterday...”

“What do you mean...? Oh, God. Is he–?!”

“No! No, no... He’s okay! Henry’s okay.” The little Buddy tried to reassure her, even when he started to panic as response over the panic that Linda showed about. “He’s just... like... he’s shut from everything for now. Resting, I hope...” Buddy stammered the las part, trying to control his nerves as he gazed the woman standing in front of him. “I– I’m Buddy, by the way! We– we never got the chance to– to meet us properly... hehe...”

With a smile, he stretched his hand in order to salute her with a hand-shake, but she hesitated. Buddy lowered his smile and hand at her doubt, but before he could retreat entirely, she reached his hand and saluted him as well.

“It’s... a pleasure to meet you, Buddy.” She finally said squatting a little to be eye level with him; even between the doubts, she managed to draw a gentle grin on her face.

“Bendy, can ya help me with– Oh!” Boris came from the kitchen, startled by the sight of the lady in the front door. “Mrs. Linda! ‘xcuse me, I didn’t know ye were... How’re ya?”

“I’m fine, Boris. Thank you.”

“Fine, fine...” Seeing her standing there and thinking over all the tensions she had gone through the day earlier, Boris couldn’t think in anything else than try to be as polite as he could. “Would ya... like to join us fer lunch?” He dropped.

The stares of both demons and the woman in there all shared an expression of doubt and nervous. But he already dropped the bomb, so it wasn’t like they could take his offering back.

“I... Thanks, Boris. But I don’t wanna bother you more than–”

“None of it!” Bendy rushed. “It’s ok! We’ll just tell Alice –Boris, take this an’ tell Alice– Please, come in!” He handed the bags to Boris and invited Linda at last.

She stood there a while, seeing as Boris went back to the kitchen and Bendy offered her to pass. Well, what’s done was done. Also she really felt the need of knowing how really was her husband, even if –as he told her the last night– she had to spend time being around of the one that was the true owner of that body.

“Thank you, Bendy.” And so, she made her way once again to the couch.

Buddy followed her but dubiously. But he had all his stuffs around the room, so quite probably he’d need to put his things in order.

Linda couldn’t help it, and she dared to take a look to the drawings the little one was working on. These looked a lot like Henry ones but not quite. There were some sketches from the toons in various kind of poses, some of different flowers, and one in the middle with the pencil just on it: of a woman’s face.

“Sorry. I was trying to... Henry has better memory for this kind of drawings, but I wanted to try and... It’s what I get so far...” The little one was referring of that last sketch: it was an attempt of Linda’s portrait. The hairstyle, the lips and the jaw line looked a bit different, and the eyes looked a little tonny-sketched, but it was actually pretty impressive.

“This looks great, Buddy. Thank you. Henry taught you to draw?”

“Eh... sort of... In the beginning it was hard to tell who was doing what at the time, so I think it was more like... copying? Henry still draws even better.”

“Even after all these years...” She muttered for herself, watching as the little one kept trying on working in that last one piece, now glancing a little to her as he tried to do more details. “Can I... ask you something?” The little demon stopped his doings as he paid attention to her. “What happened last night... happened before?”

Buddy left his pencil aside. He started to think about the other times they had been in such stress, but it was hard to think –and even more to put in words– such terrifying experiences.

“Y–yeah, it... it had...” He answered with tension about it.

“...And it’s always like that?” It was hard to tell what she meant with ‘like that’, but Buddy tried to follow the idea.

“It... it used to be worse... and the idea of feeling in danger was real back then... At least, we’re safe here. Henry can take his time to heal easier that way.” Stated Buddy, but it didn’t seem to clarify Linda’s main question. Although he said that used to be worse, and if what Linda saw last night wasn’t the worst, definitely she didn’t want to know anymore what really kept that hell of studio.

“Can I ask you something, Mrs. Linda?” Buddy said after a few seconds of silence, as an attempt to avoid the tension and to satisfy and old curiosity. “I found an old book the other day, a photo book. I tried to see in there but Henry didn’t want to pay attention, so...”

“Do you want me to show you?” Linda asked back, seeing unamused but sweetly where this was going.

“Would you?!” He asked excitedly loud, even for Linda’s expectations. He realized of this and quickly assumed a more sheepish posture, giving to Linda quite an impression that couldn’t do more than giggle about his eagerness.

She stood up, waiting for Buddy to lead her to where he found the book. So he did as expected and went straight to the stairwell. Being there, Linda tried to follow back, but was hard noticing the method of the tiny one to climb up stairs: holding by the banister’s joist and fitting his feet in the spaces between, as if climbing a ladder by the side.

“Sorry. I can’t reach the steps...”

She giggled once again; his innocence was something to watch indeed. And with not much to elaborate, she picked the tiny frame up and held him tightly to climb up the stairs all the way up.

It seemed that they would be able to get along, despite the fact that wasn’t necessarily with Henry in there. That was a thought that gladly passed across Bendy’s mind. He was so focused in the way they both would start to hang that didn’t even bother on closing the door; he was standing there just as he was when he invited Linda inside. At least now he could calm his mind and close the door to keep in his daily doings –and help Alice with the extra work now that they had guest.

“ _What about us? We just wait out here or what_?”

...

Ok, definitely wasn’t a voice he expected to hear.

~~~~~~~~~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be sincere, since I put my mind on finishing this, I've felt some sort of energy boost and I'm so close to finish this... I was stuck in a part and got able to keep going and flow with the keyboard as I didn't since February, for real!
> 
> 2 chapters more, and that would be all.
> 
> The angst ain't over yet, I must say!!
> 
> See ya very soon this time~ ^3^  
> ♥♥♥♥♥


	16. Old happy days.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because the past is not only filled with haunted memories~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, hello there, heh... we're approaching to the end~  
> Just one more chapter and it'll be all.  
> But still this one is not the last, so come along and enjoy a little of fluff before we aboard the last trail of heartaches!
> 
> Enjoy!!

As they reached the top of the stairs, Linda put Buddy down so he could lead her where that photo book was. By when they reached the room, Linda felt a deep longing; this was Henry’s old home-office, with his drawing desk, his old couch, a chair comfy enough that didn’t kill his back like the one back at the studio... the room was too dusty; Linda hadn’t put a step inside of it since Henry’s disappearance... Heh, not surprise the little toon found such a book in here then.

Buddy hurried his way to where he left the book on the couch. He picked it up from there and Linda again couldn’t contain her giggles; the book was so big that it covered Buddy’s whole body. _It was like a book with legs_!

She reached for the book not only because he was handing it to her, but because the little one was having notorious problems walking around with such a heavy thing and unable to see where he was walking by.

Linda made her way to the dusty couch –dusting it a little with her hand– and took seat on it. A little gesture to the tiny devil and he happily obliged his way next to her so both could see the old photographs through the pages.

“Well, what do you want me to tell ya?”

“Mhm...” Buddy stared thoughtfully at the pictures, and then he pointed to one with a few group of people in front of a door and a little blurry banner above them. “This. What’s that from?”

“That one? Well, is from when they first opened the studio. It’s the inaugural photo.”

“That’s why Joey’s in the middle?”

“Well... yeah. He is. But besides him...” She started to point each member in the picture. “...there’s the man they hired as music director; and that tall man was Norman, the one in charge of maintaining the projectors.”

“The Projectionist...” Buddy released remembering the suffering man and the price he paid just for trying to help them. But Linda wasn’t aware of those memories, as she only held the ones over the silent man that used to be a close friend of her husband.

“Yeah, that’s what his job was called like. He actually was a very close friend of Henry. Both liked word’s games, and used to hang out at least once a month. A game between them was to find a new word that the other hadn’t heard of and challenging them to guess its meaning. Henry always asked me for help; it seemed like Norman was really good at that game of them.” She said with a smirk on her face, one that even Buddy felt like his own. Those tales actually made him feel a little more gleeful; the good memories of the past people were better than the haunting ones.

He started to hoover his floating head a little over the picture, trying to tell who was who. And his stare locked in a quite shorty man.

“That’s Henry?”

“Yes, that’s him! How do you recognize him?”

Linda seemed to think that since Henry was... ‘rearranged’ to be turned in Buddy, he wouldn’t have had the real chance to meet him. But the toon was somehow distracted. Something seemed to catch Buddy’s attention as he scanned the image.

“Wow. He was short.” He finally said leaving a little snicker to pass through. And with that, something seemed to snap with annoyance in the back of his mind. It seemed like Henry was starting to pay attention.

“Yeah, he was. But you are shorter.” Linda teased back, and Buddy couldn’t resist the charm of her joker side.

“That means that Henry is even shorter now, ain’t it?”

Linda couldn’t help but shout a light chuckle over that statement and Buddy’s grin spread wide, not only by her laugh, but also for feeling a little tug inside him. Henry was reacting and he wouldn’t let this opportunity pass.

“You know what, Mrs. Linda?” The little one said, pausing her laughs. “I actually liked your jokes about the cat... and the one about calling.”

“Oh, so you got them like jokes, huh?”

He nodded enthusiastically. “I think it was easier for me, I was born as a toon, after all... But did you use to joking Henry like that often? He seemed a little annoyed over it.” He said with a mischievous grin of his own.

“Sometimes. It was easy to catch him flying low, somehow tired, and that was the perfect moment to strike him with a prank.” She said pretty much proud of herself.

Something was being mumbled behind Buddy’s mind. This was working.

“But why did you do that?”

“Well, honestly... Henry was so tired and frustrated more than often, and it was the quickest way to put him out of that state. Yeah, he got mad at it, but he couldn’t be really mad at a little face like this.” She said pointing at herself with false, teasing innocence.

With a thoughtful look and like a lightning hitting him, he realized of something. “Why that sounds like something Bendy would say?”

“Oh, do I?” Her snicker sounded more mischievous than anything else and the glint in her eyes was shining with such maliciousness, that Buddy couldn’t help but catch a feeling back in his mind mixed between annoyance and... dread?

That little shock in his face was easily caught by Linda, who as response softened her features and gave him a sweet, honest smile, at the same time she reached over him and started to stroke her hand between the demon’s hairline. Although he initially held himself still, slowly he eased and leaned to her touch, allowing himself to feel the tender hand of the woman as comfort for him as much as for the one in the back of his mind.

“Sorry if that scared you... But I was just playing. I wouldn’t mean to harm you.” Linda said as to reassure the little demon. “But, to be honest, was Henry the one that used to call me a ‘little devil’ himself.”

Curiosity peaked once again and Buddy turned to her. “How so?”

“Well, between some jokes, a little prank here and there, anything that could help Henry to take his head off any worries that could concern him, I kinda earned the title from the other demon.” She said nonchalantly. “Besides, any new joke was a perfect material for a new episode.”

“A... new episode? For Bendy Show?” He asked incredulous.

“Of course! After all, I was Henry’s biggest muse!” The tone she used to describe herself, so smug and airy, made Buddy feel another tug in his mind; Henry reacting to her certainly.

“You must be joking.” He said with a little giggle beneath his words.

“Oh, not at all! See, the episode ‘All washed up’ was made just after that failed vacation we had, actually. Me trying to have some fun despite the weather and made Henry go after me, ending up soaked from heat to toes.” Snickers burst from her mouth from the memory.

“ _And had to spend the next 2 days closed up in our hotel room because she caught a really high fever thanks to her little stunt._ ” Henry replied in the back of their mind, making Buddy slap his mouth to prevent his own giggles to escape.

“On another time, Henry took me to a really fancy restaurant on a date, but his wallet fell in the car’s seat and he didn’t even realize. By the time the bill was brought to us, he started desperately to pat all over himself looking for his missing wallet. In the end I told him that I could pay the bill, and took _his_ wallet to do so!” Linda now was having some problems in catching her own breath as the abashed face of his husband popped in her mind in reminiscence of the scene, where he didn’t want to allow her to pay as it was him who invited her and it was a gentlemen thing to do, noticing way too late that it was his own wallet the one she was holding.

And such embarrassment was caught by Buddy, who couldn’t control the way his cheeks started to heat; Despite him joining the laugher, Henry’s shame was too powerful to be contained as only a tug in their mind.

“After that, ‘Tasty Trio Trouble’ was made.” She finally said, easing a bit her laugh.

Buddy eased his giggles as well and they kept inspecting the old photos from the album. Every picture was a trip of joy and amusement thanks to the stories behind. And Buddy could feel also, it was a nostalgia tour for the man behind his mind; Henry couldn’t help but feel the deepest of longing as they heard every and each of the backstories.

Lot of pictures were indeed of Henry, that young and short man, mostly surprised from the shot or even oblivious of having been the target of a new photo (thanks to Linda). Another bunch was of them both, husband and wife, young and cheerful, despite some tiredness easily seen in the man’s eyes.

“ _She’s as beautiful as always..._ ” Henry muttered inside, contemplating the image of the woman next to them, letting Buddy to reflect his thoughts with a sweet yet shy smile.

Playful images, lovely pictures, capturing moments of joy and energy. Even a few were the aftermath of some sort of –probably– Linda’s pranks, like one with Henry full of hay straws in his totally formal shirt, or another of them both entirely soaked and slightly blurry, quite probably from shaking so much, in what seemed some sort of lobby.

A good bunch of them were from the studio, and nearly 5 pages was entirely filled of pictures of Henry and the toons; Linda referring to these as when they finally managed to create them in real life, being the third or fourth most glorious moments of Henry’s life.

“What was the first one?” Inquired Buddy.

“Well, of course the day we got married!” She answered totally smug. “But this time with the toons, oh, I remember... The early days he would come home so late as no other night, always talking of how much progress they were doing, sometimes a lot frustrated when their test failed... But the day they got it, he got home slamming open the door and crying out loud ‘We did it! We really did it!’. That was not pass midday, and I was so confused that barely could understand a single word from his rant. So he took me to the studio and made his way so I could meet their creation. Joey was, honestly, livid, about how he could go and get me, abandoning his place of work and most importantly about _exposing_ their brand new work; some things about the competition, investors... I really wasn’t paying much attention. But Henry got to calm him down, making me promise to tell nothing about outside... And that’s when I finally met Bendy...” Now her voice strained into reminiscence.

“He was... so shy and fearful at first... I guess that’s how any ‘new born’ would react. But knowing the show, the character, how he was supposed to act with curiosity and a little mischievous glint that he hadn’t in that moment... He looked so fragile and I was pretty shocked for just seeing him right there...” She stroked the picture in the page, which was as big as half the page it was on; the photo being from herself, holding firmly but gentle up in her arms a shyly smiling Bendy, and she beaming with cautious joy. “And then I started to tease Henry of him being our third son.”

The longing feeling inside Buddy came to a halt, as it was immediately replaced by annoyance and bashfulness. And the tiny demon couldn’t hold the flush rushing through his cheeks coming from his other one, but didn’t deter the laugh that his reaction provoked to him.

“Oh, yeah. And then Henry started to say that he was totally different, that he and Joey made him. And then I told him that in such case, he _cheated_ on me with his best friend.”

A hand in his face and another in his stomach; Buddy only burst to cackles that didn’t help with the absolutely embarrassment that Henry was shooting from his back, even feeling the stuttering the once man tried to articulate as a way to retort the woman or justify himself in front of his body companion.

“Ah... Henry was so embarrassed at the moment, that it even eased the poor Bendy’s nerves and started to laugh a little, also trying to joke around with his creator. And after a while, he dared to approach to me, I could lift him and Henry took our very first pictures.”

She turned the page, revealing another photo of them both, Linda still holding him in her arms, but now both giggling, eyes tightly closed and facing one another, with heads tilted as if they were reaching each other’s forehead, and Bendy’s tail wrapping around her body as a sort of embrace he was giving to her.

Buddy’s laughter eased and the embarrassment from Henry cooled down, only leaving a tint of annoyance, but even Buddy could tell he might be smirking a bit. Linda was right; he couldn’t really stay mad at her.

“And how was when you met the other toons?” Inquired Buddy.

“Well, it wasn’t more easy for Henry’s sake.” She giggled a little. “With Bendy already knowing me, he was the one introducing me to them. First was Boris and a few weeks later was Alice. He coaxed them to talk to me and then he would shoot a little joke about Henry, one that I’d gladly respond, and so he would get in the middle of a pun-crossfire against him.” And that embarrassment peaked again.

~~~~~~~~~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I still need to finishing polishing what's left from the last one, but hopefully it'll be done by the end of the week.  
> Anyhow, I'm really glad that this had turned into my very first contribution to the fandom that filled my thought-to-be-dead spirit and flooded it with love for the art of simply doing the things I love (and that I left behind for 4, 5 years...)  
> ...This new fandom/obsession has really helped me to figure what I really want to do, so although this fic might be over, I assure you and leave you the invitation: there will be more up to come~! ~~(about, like, 7 differents AU brimming in mind and keep adding, so...)~~  
>  And yes. I know this ending note should fit better for the very last chapter, but now I'm feeling to say so, so~ ^3^
> 
> Thanks for staying!!!


	17. Reminiscence.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> True love knows no boundaries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I know I said this' gonna be the last chapter but...
> 
> (Meanwhile, Enjoy this one!)

The following pictures showed a bit of the stunts the toons tried to portray for the shot, like Bendy trying to balance himself over Boris’ head, the Wolf showing he could lift both his toon companions, Alice being the most well-behaved and just standing in front of Linda and Henry like a family portrait, only for the next be photo-bombed by a tripping wolf and a too-blurry and too-close-up demon nearly screaming at the camera.

Absentmindedly Buddy kept turning page after page, but now wasn’t quite him the one contemplating them, so he slowly made himself aside, fading a tad his joyous smile to replace it with a kind smirk, and resting his eager eyes so some more tired and longing, if not remorseful, look would take place. It was Henry’s turn to be there, and there could be no better time, as the next bunch of pictures portrayed the man, the lady and some more infant humans: their children...

His mitten-like hand, too way unlike his more human, thicker and protective hands, rested next to a picture of himself trying to nearly juggling with a hyped boy over his left shoulder and a cheerful clingy girl in her right arm. And his smile faded to a frown.

Linda wasn’t unable to notice that attitude change. She extended a bit her arm, wanting to reach him, but retracted it as she saw him release a shuddering sigh. And his voice, when he spoke, lacked that eagerness that was turning to be so characteristically from the tiny demon.

“What... what about this one...? Those kids...?”

Linda felt it. Was the same remorseful tone he was using the night before, and she let sink the realization of who she was talking to now. But maybe he was still uncomfortable about the idea of talking directly to her, so she played along, yet with a tone much more sweet and gentle, even if it took her a while to answer.

“That... those are Henry’s children. Since he worked so hard and until such times almost every day, it was hard for him spend time with them...” The tiny frame of the demon hunched over the book, tense and heavy, so Linda decided to reach his back, stroking gently with her thumb as to comfort him a little. “That’s why he always dedicated every single minute from the weekend and holidays to make sure those kids could spend the best time they could with him. Even some days without Joey knowing and making them promise not to tell, he would bring the toons to our house and let them play with the kids.” Another turn of page and indeed, there were also a bunch of photos of the kids playing along with the toons– although most of them blurry.

“The boy sympathized so quickly with Bendy, making jokes and pranking Henry around...” A couple of pictures showed them hanging upside down from a tall tree– to be followed by one of Henry trying to get them down; and another was of Henry sitting in his armchair completely oblivious, them peeking from behind it, an inflated paper bag and a mischievous glint that waited for the disaster incoming.

“And the girl really made good friends with Alice...” And the pictures portraying them showed them hugged, Alice holding her up in her arms, and brushing and braiding their hair to each other.

“And both always fought about whose was its turn with Boris.” A photo showing both tugging the wolf’s each arm in their dispute. “He was the tallest and usually would carry them up in his shoulders or playing airplane. They simply loved it.”

A little snort and a smirk bloomed in the demon’s face, but it quickly faded. He pushed the book aside to Linda and hopped down from the couch. He accommodated his scarf as how he liked to use it and headed to the threshold, facing his back to the woman still sitting there and ignoring the concerned face she was showing to him. But she kept telling the stories from back in time.

“When Bendy disappeared, they were already teenagers, but that didn’t deter them to wanting to help. They organized their own patrol after school with the condition of them being back before I got out to pick you up and start our nighttime search.” Henry jerked a little with his mention, but that didn’t make him turn back to her. “They knew they couldn’t get help from their friends to go and look for him, but were the best at pointing any place that could home anyone running from their place. Warehouses, barns, bridges, abandoned tunnels and alleys; they helped a lot on expanding our searching map and even leaving clues for him to find if he ever got into those places. And when I had to go with you, they would be already at home. They said that they would get in bed as soon as the sun went down, but most of the times we would find one or the other trying to stand guard in the hall, asleep.”

He hunched, bowing his head down, holding with one hand his scarf as if trying to close it on his chest, and with the other held the door’s frame so he could stead himself.

“They must think I’m a terrible father...” He lamented in a whisper, but not out of his wife’s earshot. “Thirty years... and all the rest of the time I was so busy to take care of them...!” His voice trembled, sobbing.

“No! Henry, none of that!” She rebated, standing up so she could emphasize her point. “It didn’t matter how tired or wasted you were; you always took your time to pick them up, taking them to their beds and tuck them in. And even they were the ones hearing you late at night and getting up to comfort you before I could get you.” She slowly approached to him, cautious. “Henry, your kids always loved you. And when you disappeared, I... had to held them with a leash so they wouldn’t go to the studio and look for you.” She tried to humor a little, and he only gave a weak stuttered sigh as a vain attempt of a laugh.

“They never blamed you. Bendy was like a brother for them and since his disappearing they always smelled something fishy about Drew, even before I did. And they were the ones consoling me after yours.” Her voice sounded so soft and so close to him, noticing from the corner of the eye how she crunched so she could be next to him. “Day after day, seeing me totally wrecked and torn, they would try to comfort me, saying things like ‘what would dad say now’ or ‘what would dad think about me seeing me like I was’... sometimes even helping me to think in a new joke to play on you.” Her voice trembled as she sniffed a little. Henry looked down to find some wet spots that increased in number and size beneath her stance, revealing the tears rolling down her face. Albeit this, he still couldn’t muster the strength to look at her directly.

“How... how are them? What happened to them...?” He inquired, still stiffened and remorseful.

“Well...” She whipped off some tears. “Wouldn’t you wanna know by yourself?”

Confused, he turned his head and fixed his tired stare on her. But her only response was a sweet yet suspicious smile. That, at least, until he heard him.

“ _No way! Ya cheated er som’thing! There’s no way ya could’ve done that!_ ” The bigger small demon complained.

“ _Welp, sorry lil’ bud, but a magician never reveals their secrets~_ ” In a sing-song voice another man responded, one Henry was sure had never heard before.

He turned, confused and pretty much startled, to his wife, who only gave him a smile and a nod, coaxing him to go and see by his own.

His heart started to pound strongly in his chest, but more in an anxious way than anything else. He swallowed heavily, making the noise be known by his companion, and stumbling he made his way to the railway, so he could take a look up there from between the joists. And there he saw a man, much like the one in the pictures, but lighter hair and a nose more like the woman next to him in shape.

“Don’t beat yourself, Bendy. It doesn’t matter which card you pick, he’ll just take ‘em all from the set and replace ‘em with one less. That way you’ll never find your card again.” A female voice, a woman, pointed out the secret with no trace of remorse in her.

He saw her, nearly shocking by seeing practically the same lady as in the pictures, but with darker, longer and straighter hair, and eyes, albeit not lacking from that same glint as the elder woman, looking more tired and thoughtful, with also a slightly more squared chin.

“Oh! So that’s how it works?” Alice joined the group, bringing with her a tray with glasses and a jar of lemonade and leaving it by the coffee table so they all could take a glass.

“Hailee! C’mon!” The man there groaned to the woman, who started to scratch behind Boris’ ears. “Didn’t you saw their faces? That was fun!”

“Just because I _saw_ their faces is that I had to tell ‘em, Lenny.” She said with false pity, lifting a brow and smirking maliciously.

“You. Are a Party. Pooper.” He spat out each of those words, funnily frustrated. And everyone around him couldn’t help but burst in laughs.

And Henry just stared in silent awe. Those persons, a man and a woman, full grown adults, and quite probably older than himself when he took a last step in this world as a human. Despise anything and everything, they looked so fine, so composed, so... cheerful...

His heart clenched and he grabbed tightly his chest. Some inky tears rolled down his face. _They’ve grown up and they’re ok... without him..._

He took a step closer, unaware of the creaking board, and everything down and around fell silent, and stares shot up to where he was.

He felt his mouth dry, his breath ragging, and his hearth surely skipped a beat or two. He tried to recede, out of view, ready to run and hide in a high or dark corner as their primal instinct shouted at them. But his retreat came to a stop the moment he stumbled against the legs of the lady standing behind him. He shot his head at her, looking at her, pleadingly, and she crunched, laying a tender hand on his minute shoulder and beaming a sweet yet comprehensive smile to reassure him.

“They won’t do anything unless you feel ok with it.” She stated. “I’ve already talked to them.”

Her voice, oh, so sweet and tender, so full of patience and understanding, echoed in his ears, sending a wave of calm and peace that he couldn’t have thought was possible, _even though she was the only one that could do it._

He swallowed hard the nearly nothing of saliva he had, and slowly, leaning in her touch, he evened his breaths. He turned back around, slightly and fearful. But despite everything they had lived, everything they had been through, he... trusted her. _They_ trusted her, more than they could have ever thought they could trust a human. And that cautious feeling they both, Henry and Buddy shared, was enough for him to gather sufficient confidence to at least talk to her directly.

“You... talked to them... about us? About me?”

“I... couldn’t not do it.” She sighed, sorrowful. “They’re... your kids, after all... They might’ve mourned your lost as much as I did, and quite probably even more.” Linda lifted her gaze towards the balcony, unable to see them but still smiling at their presence. “They were just kids when everything happened. They needed to know that they weren’t alone.”

Tightening a blink, he lowered his stare. But his eyes seemed antsy, flickering his gaze and twitching the line of mouth as if he couldn’t take initiative over his next words, or more likely as if an inner debate was taking place. And after a couple of silent and patient minutes, he released a breath, unaware of having holding it, and fixed his stare back to the old lady.

“How... how did you get them... to come here?”

“Well, they can’t say ‘no’ to their mother.” She smirked, although it didn’t seem to ease the little toon’s nerves. “Actually, I was the one who went to their place.” She started to relate in a much solemn demeanor. “Leonard had a business trip around the city and usually stays at Hailee’s place when he does. I... I really felt pretty shocked about you; you were... crumbling on my arms and I didn’t...” She sighed, trying to calm her own nerves before continuing. “It turned roughly clear that I don’t really know how to help you anymore. So, I went to their place and... I told them everything.” She ended up saying, defeated, and a somber and sorrowful stare took place in her eyes, contrasting with the shimmer of the tears fighting for not roll down.

“I told them about Bendy that was at home, that was okay. I told them about Alice and Boris that also came here, somehow managing to get out of that condemned studio. I tried to tell them about ‘the new toon’ but... I couldn’t. They know me far too well and I ended up telling about you; _Buddy_ and you. And from there, heh, I practically vomited every bit of what I saw here yesterday.” She tried to smirk humorously, but tears betrayed her façade. “In the end, they were the ones insisting in coming.” And she finally crumbled, unable to hold her crunched position and just collapsing in her knees, seated as probably hadn’t done in years.

“I’m... I’m really sorry, Henry, but I couldn’t tell ‘em not to. Despite all the years they still missed you. And I know that knowing about them is what made you collapse last night; I understand if you’re not ready, I’m even ok if you’re mad at me for bringing them. But I owed them. I know they needed to because I...!”

She wouldn’t have noticed how her whole body was trembling if it weren’t for the tiny mittens that held her hand as an effort to land her shaken mind. Linda rose her gaze, confused when she met a gentle but stern look from the tired demon– her husband, gave to her. A gaze that was also sweetly accompanied by a tender and comprehensive smile. So she released a sobbing sigh, one that quickly returned as a gasp, and she fixed her pleadingly, remorseful and tired eyes on him.

“I’m so sorry, Henry...” She breathed out in a thread of voice. “The least I should’ve done was asking you. All this passed so fast and I didn’t want to feel like I’d lose you again...! It didn’t help that Leonard’s stance would only last a couple days more, and I didn’t want them to lose their chance–”

“Linda...” Henry cut her off gently. “Linda, don’t beat yourself, please...” He let go one of his hands to reach over Linda’s face and smeared some of her tears away, cupping her cheek as he made her to look at him. “I... I understand. And I’m okay with it. _We_ are okay with it. I mean... this still terrifies me; _us_ , but...” He released a shaky sigh, albeit never tearing apart his eyes from her more than a few flickering gazes. “...before yesterday I didn’t know how much I missed you. And I know what I said; I still think that you don’t deserve to just wandering around, seeing if I’d ever be here. It’s not fair for you...! But I couldn’t stand the idea of losing you either, not again...”

Tears menaced to slid down his cheeks; squinting pie-cut eyes trying to prevent their descent. Although never taking his stare off her, no more.

Her eyes glistened in accord to his, but unlike before, she felt these last ones as a reflection of the warmth growing inside of her. With a little snicker hidden behind a sigh, she shook softly her head, holding the hand on her cheek with her own and leaning in it. And after a few precious seconds of tender stares and patient silence, she leaned forward, reaching for the minute devil’s forehead and stamping a warm kiss in it.

Much for the surprise of the toonified man, who couldn’t hide the blush splotching all over his face with his startled stare to her. Yes, he was a toon now, and that only made all of his reaction tenfold, for the woman’s delight, who was able to let go a chiming giggle thanks to it. And with this, Henry was able to regain composure, giving a lopsided smile from his side, and reaching up to engulf his tiny arm around his wife’s neck. Act immediately returned by her.

“I love you, Henry. It doesn’t matter what, I still love you.” She whispered to him.

He couldn’t contain it any longer, and allowing his tears to escape, he buried his constricted face on her shoulder.

“I... I love you too... I love you, Linda...” He finally said in a whisper, his voice hanging from a line.

Between humming and sagged breaths, whimpering and silent company, they both held their embrace for longer minutes, comforting each other, as if trying to catch the missing decades they spent apart. And after a while, they broke their hold mutually, able to look at each other. Tears still trailed down their faces, but a smile ornamented their features. Linda peeked down her now-black shoulder and shot a humorously accusatory smirk to the tiny demon, whose response was a sheepish look and a shrug. Although, a snicker left the woman’s lips, and he responded with one of his own.

~~~~~~~~~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SURPRISE!!!
> 
> Honestly, the chapter I thought was gonna be the last took me longer than I estimated so I had to divide it. And well... There's still onechapter more after this one!! ~~(it's not an epilogue, just another chapter and I hope it'll be the very last)~~
> 
> Anyways, I still stand on what I said in the previous one. Thanks for letting me be part of this community/fandom!!!


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